Faroese Annual Dolphin Massacre

[TheLastOne36]

So usually I don't get caught up on sensationalist news stories I see posted on facebook or whatever, but this one did catch my eyes.

Apparently, the Faroese have an annual dolphin hunt tradition called grindadráp where they use motorboats to drive up dolphins into the shallow waters of a fjord and then have their men slaughter the whales. The Faroese youth are especially involved in this as it is seen as a right of passage into manhood. Another link from the Daily Mail.

Some 850 dolphins are slaughtered yearly in this tradition and the waters surrounding the fjords are stained red in blood. The dolphins aren't killed quickly but in fact slowly and brutally with hooks, because that is the manly thing to do supposedly.

The dolphins are typically a part of the Faroese diet and are culturally important because they've been a stable of the Faroe Islands since its colonization in the 10th century. The yearly hunt as a tradition also dates back that long. The dolphins killed in the grindadráp have typically been used as food afterwords but following a notice by the Faroese Health Ministry recommending that these dolphins should not be eaten due to a high mercury count, this hunt has been done purely for fun and tradition.

Pictures of the hunted dolphins are readily available in the links provided and on wikipedia; no need to link them here.

In its Red List of Threatened Species, the International Union for Conservation of Nature lists both the Long-finned and Short-finned Pilot Whales with “Data Deficient” status, according to its 2008 assessment. In a previous assessment in 1996, the organization listed the species in the “Lower Risk/least concern” category. The IUCN also says that with the NAMMCO-estimated population size of 778,000 in the eastern North Atlantic, with approximately 100,000 around the Faroes, Faroese catches of 850 per year are probably sustainable.

From Wikipedia. So the annual hunt by the Faroese appear to be negligible compared to overall population. Does that justify the keeping of this tradition?

What do the people of CFC think?

 

[Kyriakos]

:/...

I thought this was those other (Falklands) islands.

As for the Feroes, they are northern than Scotland, and in that part of the world, in this direction, there isn't any civilization anyway :\

 

[Formaldehyde]

Did anybody else immediately think of the South Park "whale whores" episode?

 

[luiz]

On a personal level I think it's pretty brutal and senseless, just like bullfighting, and would like to see it stopped.

But realistically, though, we treat the animals we eat pretty horribly too.

 

[Gucumatz]

And here comes the annual cry of PETA and animal rightsers...

As long as the act doesn't threaten the existence of the species, there is no justification to culturally eradicate a people's way of life just because it makes your stomach turn.

 

[Perfection]

I don't think anyone is advocating the cessation of dolphin hunting simply because it makes their tummies turn

 

[Lillefix]

I don't think anyone is advocating the cessation of dolphin hunting simply because it makes their tummies turn

I might be prejudiced, but I think many would.

 

[Oruc]

It should be maintained, cultural diversity is important.

 

[BenitoChavez]

Should the descendants of the Aztecs bring back the practice of human sacrifice in the name of cultural diversity?

 

[Lillefix]

Imo, the fact that it has a "cultural" significance should have no bearing at all on how we judge it(as with "religious"). Absolutely none. The fact that something has been done for centuries doesn't make it better or worse than a recently introduced practice.

 

[Oruc]

Should the descendants of the Aztecs bring back the practice of human sacrifice in the name of cultural diversity?

Who am I to deny them? I certainly don't have the power. Let them find their own way without the cultural imperialism

 

[BenitoChavez]

Well at least you're consistent in your beliefs

 

[de Maistre]

Should the descendants of the Aztecs bring back the practice of human sacrifice in the name of cultural diversity?

No, but neither should the Spanish use it as an excuse to "civilise" them.

 

[El_Machinae]

And here comes the annual cry of PETA and animal rightsers...

As long as the act doesn't threaten the existence of the species, there is no justification to culturally eradicate a people's way of life just because it makes your stomach turn.

How does culturally eradicating a people's way of life threaten the existence of our species?

 

[Lillefix]

How does culturally eradicating a people's way of life threaten the existence of our species?

Are you a pilot whale?

He doesn't mean human species, he talks about the species these people are hunting.

 

[El_Machinae]

I know. But, apparently it's okay to torture members of a species as long as the species as a whole isn't threatened, no?

 

[Kyriakos]

Should the descendants of the Aztecs bring back the practice of human sacrifice in the name of cultural diversity?

I wouldn't be very surprised if that already happens to some degree in the drug cartel circuit

 

[AdamCrock]

Well the dolphins are mammals and semi-sentient , killing them is just wrong. But there are enough wealthy jerks out there still to pay for their meat of course the wealthy rich jackass doesn't bother himself with such a trivial task as to kill a dolphin :/ I wonder if we could manhunt rich jackasses and sell their meat for profit - that would make them think I guess.

 

[Yeekim]

Who am I to deny them? I certainly don't have the power. Let them find their own way without the cultural imperialism

I certainly have the power to vehemently despise them, which is what I do.

A time-honored tradition of chasing dolphins with motorboats and killing them for fun, huh?

Contemptible.

I wouldn't object if they were at least eaten.

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

As long as they eat the Dolphin meat I'm fine.