Sea turns red with blood as more than 130 pilot whales are driven into harbour and hacked to death by Faroe Islanders in traditional ‘hunt’

At least 138 pilot whales were killed during the last grindadrap in the Faroe Islands – a gruesome Viking tradition in which the animals are rounded up and hacked to death.

The sea turned red with the animals’ blood as they were pierced and stabbed after being held in an inescapable part of the harbor of Hvannasund, a village on the west coast of Viðoy, the northernmost island of the archipelago.

The ‘grindadrap’, or simply ‘grind’, is a thousand-year-old Faroese tradition in which hunters surround pilot whales and dolphins with their fishing boats and drive them into a shallow bay.

The terrified animals are laid on the beach and fishermen then brutally slaughter them with knives on the shore, after which the locals eat their meat and blubber.

Every summer, shocking footage of the bloody hunt shows the macabre ritual, which is strongly condemned by outraged animal rights advocates who consider the practice barbaric.

The water turned red with the animals’ blood as they were cut and stabbed after being held in an inescapable part of the harbor of Hvannasund, a village on the west coast of Viðoy.

Pilot whales are placed on the ground after they have been slaughtered during the Grindadrap

This year, witnesses from marine animal charity the Captain Paul Watson Foundation said the ride was particularly shocking considering the length of time the animals suffered.

Around 11:30 am local time on Saturday, a Faroese fisheries patrol vessel spotted a group initially estimated at 50 to 100 long-finned pilot whales near Viðoy.

At 12:45 the decision was made to drive them in and over the next few hours the capsule was slowly forced towards land.

Witnesses said the number of boats involved was smaller than normal, probably due to an ongoing strike in the Faroe Islands that has led to major fuel shortages.

Just after 3pm it was confirmed that the animals would be driven in to be killed at 4pm, but this time things came and went while the animals were still held by boats in a fjord.

It was then announced that the killing would be postponed to allow the rowing race to end in Klaksvik so that more people would be on the beach to watch the animals die.

Two and a half hours later, the boats finally entered the dolphins, who had now been in a stressful situation for over five and a half hours.

Disturbing video footage shows the animals bobbing their heads above the red water to see what is going on.

A spokesperson for the foundation said: ‘Our livestream footage shows animals struggling ashore for more than 25 minutes while the other members of the group were killed, after which the remaining live animals were held in place by ships for a further 90 minutes as they struggled. on the rocky shore and showed increasing signs of stress.

‘Finally it was decided to drive the remaining animals back into the sea.

Disturbing video shows the animals bobbing their heads above the red water to see what’s going on

‘These efforts seemed less enthusiastic than when they were entered, with one person throwing rocks at the group as a single boat maneuvered around them.

‘The designated killing area was different from the area usually used in Hvannasund – possibly due to the falling tide.

‘This meant that the animals were driven ashore on large rocks, while the other part of the killing area was a concrete wall, making it difficult to insert the hook into the blowhole and then pull them in to be paralyzed and killed. become.’

Initial counts show that at least forty long-finned pilot whales were killed in the first batch. The charity says there is no humane way to carry out such a task.

It later turns out that many of the remaining animals have been stranded and killed. The death toll stood at 138 on Sunday evening.

Rob Read, Chief Operating Officer of the Paul Watson Foundation UK, said: ‘The Faroese use the close bonds of kinship between pilot whales against them and so while it is a relief that some animals have been saved today, today’s event will require a huge effort require. toll on this family group.

‘It would not be a surprise if more animals died as a direct result of the current grindadráp, either from injuries sustained by boats and rocks or from the sheer stress of current events.’

Pilot whales are seen with visible stripes on the coastline, while members of their group continue to be taunted in the background

Long-finned whales are actually dolphins and are known for their close-knit family groups led by a senior matriarch.

Breeding and mating usually take place between April and September, with a calf born every three to six years.

Older and non-reproductive females help care for the calves in the pod.

Female long-finned pilot whales can live up to 60 years, while males can live up to 45 years.

Like all cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises), long-finned pilot whales play a crucial role in ocean ecosystems, keeping the oceans alive and thriving.

Volunteers have lobbied to end the rut, which kills hundreds of whales every year.

The Faroese claim that this is part of their tradition and that hunting provides free food for their community.

But campaign groups have branded the hunt, which takes place every year, as ‘barbaric’ and say it is no longer just about feeding the islanders, with surplus meat and bacon being sold.

Fishermen usually surround the animals before beaching them and dismembering them, often turning the sea red with their blood, with aerial photos showing the blood-stained waters during the 2023 rut.

By July last year, 648 pilot whales had died in the slaughter, which was widely condemned by charities and animal lovers.

The Faroe Islands are a self-governing archipelago that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark in the North Atlantic Ocean between Norway and Iceland.