I wrote this piece after learning about the horror of a tradition which still continues in the FAROE ISLANDS – The Grindadrap.

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It’s a barbaric practice where pilot whales and dolphins are killed in the most horrific manner – a mass cull.

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It’s mainly opportunistic in that it can happen at any time of year. I won’t go into too much detail, but there is plenty of information about this online.

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I’ll just add that, unbelievably, 83% of Faroese people are still in favour of continuing this tradition, begun around the year 800, despite the fact that the meat is no longer eaten due to the high levels of heavy metals, plus, of course, other food is now freely available.

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A couple of statistics:

• The largest recorded hunt was in 2021 where 1400 Atlantic dolphins were killed.

• On average, 900 pilot whales and dolphins are killed every year in this small area.