Whaling Around the World: Danish Faeroe Islands The Faeroe Islanders slaughter long- and short-finned pilot whales in the Faeroe Islands in the country's annual, brutal whale "drives." Between 2,000 and 3,500 pilot whales are corralled by men in boats and forced into bays in this North Sea Danish Protectorate. The animals are trapped in the shallow waters. The islanders gaff the marine mammals with spears and slaughter them by severing the whales' spines with long knives. The whales are stoned, speared, stabbed, slashed, and clubbed by people in a festive atmosphere. This slaughter is particularly gruesome since the killing is conducted as a community sporting event with young children often participating in the killing of the visibly and audibly terrified whales. The hunt is done because of tradition and the absurd belief by the Faeroese that God gave the whales to the people to be slaughtered.

DEFENDING WHALES Whale Campaign Home Blog Antarctica SSCS History Saving Whales The Intelligent Whale Whaling Around the World Related Articles Video TAKE ACTION What You Can Do Australia Action Support Sea Shepherd   Sea Shepherd - Actions Defending the Whales of the Faeroe Islands Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has been the leading opposition against the slaughter of pilot whales in the Danish Faeroe Islands. Captain Paul Watson has led campaigns to oppose the hunt in 1985 and 1986 and again in 2000. No whales were killed while Sea Shepherd patrolled the Islands. Sea Shepherd was also successful in convincing 20,000 stores in two grocery chains in Germany to boycott Faeroese fish products. Sea Shepherd's efforts against the Faeroese whalers is documented in the BBC documentary “Black Harvest.”