{"id":94964,"date":"2017-07-10T12:00:20","date_gmt":"2017-07-10T11:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=94964"},"modified":"2017-07-05T10:53:03","modified_gmt":"2017-07-05T09:53:03","slug":"gruesome-pic-shows-mass-slaughter-of-whales-in-faroe-islands-hunt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2017\/07\/gruesome-pic-shows-mass-slaughter-of-whales-in-faroe-islands-hunt\/","title":{"rendered":"Gruesome Pic Shows Mass Slaughter of Whales in Faroe Islands Hunt"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Faroe Islands whale hunt on June 16, 2017 (ANDRIJA ILIC\/Sipa Press)<\/p><\/div>\n

30 Jun 2017 – <\/em>Faroe\u00a0Islanders have turned the sea red after slaughtering hundreds of\u00a0whales\u00a0as part of a centuries-old hunt, which has been harshly criticized by animal rights groups.<\/p>\n

The hunts, or \u201cdrives\u201d date back to the late 16th<\/sup> century.\u00a0 Authorities on the islands allow islanders to drive herds of pilot whales into shallow waters, where they are killed using a \u2018spinal lance\u2019 that is inserted through the animal\u2019s neck to break its spinal cord.<\/p>\n

The grisly image shows a hunt on June 16.<\/p>\n

‘UNPRECEDENTED’ ORCA HUNTING FRENZY CAPTURED ON FILM<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The first hunt of this year was on May 21, according to ocean conservation group Sea Shepherd<\/a>, which claims that 84 pilot whales were killed in the hunt. Hundreds more whales have died<\/a> in subsequent hunts \u00a0according to Sea Shepherd, which describes the drives as \u201cincredibly cruel.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

File photo – a Faroe Islands whale hunt on July 2015. (Photo: Sea Shepherd\/Mayk Wendt)<\/p><\/div>\n

The Faroe Islands are located in the Atlantic Ocean between Iceland and Norway.<\/p>\n

According to the Faroese Government, approximately 450 pilot whales have been killed in the Faroe Islands so far this year. Some 295 pilot whales were killed during hunts, which are known as \u201cGrindadrap\u201d in the local language, last year, according to official statistics<\/a>. Some 501 were killed in 2015, according to official statistics.<\/p>\n

A spokesman for the Faroe Islands government told Fox News that whaling in the islands is sustainable and conducted in accordance with international law. \u201cThere is no doubt that whale hunts in the Faroe Islands are dramatic and result in a lot of blood in the water,\u201d he explained, via email. \u201cThey are, nevertheless, well organised and fully regulated.\u201d<\/p>\n

HUGE SEAL BATTLES OCTOPUS IN INCREDIBLE FIGHT TO THE DEATH<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The \u2018spinal lance\u2019 used to kill the whales was designed by a Faroese veterinarian and ensures that the mammals lose consciousness and die within a few seconds. \u201cNormally, the entire pod of whales is killed in less than fifteen minutes,\u201d the spokesman said. \u201cA\u00a0rounded blowhole hook is used to haul the whales further up onto the shore.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

The Little Mermaid statue is seen painted in red in what local authorities say is an act of vandalism, in Copenhagen, Denmark May 30, 2017.
(Ida Marie Odgaard\/Scanpix Denmark\/via REUTERS)<\/p><\/div>\n

The government says that the pilot whale population in the eastern North Atlantic is approximately 778,000, of which around 100,000 are around the Faroes. The Faroese catch around 800 whales a year on average, it says. The long-term annual average catch of pilot whales in the Faroe Islands represents less than 1 percent of the total eastern North Atlantic whale population, according to the spokesman for the Faroe Islands government. \u201cIt has long since been internationally recognised that pilot whale catches in the Faroe Islands are fully sustainable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The hunts can happen at any time of the year and are noncommercial – meat and blubber from each drive is shared among the local community. The whales are not an endangered species.<\/p>\n

KILLER WHALES ARE TORMENTING ALASKAN FISHERMEN<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The islands are a self-governing group of islands that is part of Denmark, but are not part of the European Union, where whaling is banned.<\/p>\n

Last month officials in the Danish capital Copenhagen had to hose down the city\u2019s famous Little Mermaid statue after it was found doused with red paint in an apparent protest at the Faroe Islands whale hunts. On the ground in front of the statue was written in red, in English, “Denmark defend the whales of the Faroe Islands.”<\/p>\n

Activists recently urged<\/a> the European Union to take action against Denmark over the Faroe Islands\u2019 whale hunt.<\/p>\n

__________________________________________<\/p>\n

The Associated Press contributed to this article.<\/em><\/p>\n

Go to Original \u2013 foxnews.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

30 Jun 2017 – Faroe Islanders have turned the sea red after slaughtering hundreds of whales as part of a hunt that has been harshly criticized by animal rights groups. Authorities on the islands allow islanders to drive herds of pilot whales into shallow waters, where they are killed using a \u2018spinal lance\u2019 that is inserted through the animal\u2019s neck to break its spinal cord. The grisly image shows a hunt on June 16.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[170],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-94964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-animal-rights-vegetarianism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94964"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94964\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}