Mid-June 2025: First kill of the dolphin hunting season witnessed in the Faroe Islands
On June 12, a very large pod of pilot whales (a large species of dolphin) was driven ashore and killed in Leynar in the Faroe Islands. Their bodies were then taken to Kvívík and to the port area in Vestmanna. The group size was originally noted at over 200 but updates suggest it was even larger.
This is the first reported kill of the summer hunting season in the islands. It was characterised by what seems to be a more recent desire to keep witnesses away, with the local sheriff declaring the harbour in Vestmanna and a quite wide area around the boat yard in Kvivik as a ‘grind area’ (grind being the local term for the pilot whale hunt), where unauthorised people are not allowed. The off-limits area is ‘one quarter’ in all directions – including upwards. A quarter is 1,852 metres, and the reference to ‘upwards’ is presumably to try to stop drones taking photos and video from overhead.
Nearly 300 sentient pilot whales killed
The number of lives taken has been reported in Faroese media as 246, however images circulating in social media show one animal with the number 296 carved into its face, suggesting that the true number is closer to 300.
There is a potential for under-reporting the size of such hunts because some animals, for example, foetuses, calves and any individuals showing signs of disease, may be discarded. Their bodies are then dumped, and they may not be counted in the official records. It will be interesting to see how many whales are in the official record of this large hunt when it is published.
Hunts are unnecessary and inhumane
OceanCare has long opposed these hunts. We see them as unnecessary and very cruel. The UK’s ex-deputy Chief Vet, Alick Simmons, recently reviewed the hunts and noted that the stress to the animals begins with the drive hunt itself, when a line of noisy fast-moving vessels corral the pod and drive then into shore, forcing them to strand. The stranding and killing processes will also be painful and very distressing for the whales.
Alick Simmons’ full assessment – ‘Capture and killing of small cetaceans in the Faroe Islands is inhumane and offers little scope for improvement’ – is available here.
‘Unravelling the truth: Whale killing in the Faroe Islands’ Published by OceanCare and other organisations is available here.