Mass Slaughter In Faeroe Islands

Whale hunting had been practiced by Faeroese since 1584 and this had become a part of their culture. This island was a part of the Denmark but over of the years the Faeroese had been granted control of many matters. The remains responsibility for Denmark was military defense and foreign affairs. So this was the main reason why Denmark never interfered in this crisis. 

This whale hunting got critics from many people around the world, especially from animal right activists. It had been called as cruel and unnecessary ancient tradition. 

Sea Shepherd was one of the organizations that bravely involved showing the world about this mass slaughter that had occurred for centuries. The most success documentation that they had done was The Cove (mass slaughter of dolphins that occurred in Taiji, Japan). They took risks by documenting the slaughter through the efforts of an undercover operative by living among the locals. 

These were some pictures of the slaughter that occurred in Faeroe Islands that I got from Sea Shepherd official blog.   

   

So, what are your opinions? People can interpret many things through pictures. They may right or wrong. Because of that, we shall listen to both parties in order to understand the real situations. Let’s continue this discussion.

The Faeroese said the main reason they killed the pilot whales was for food, not for fun as outsider always said and also not for showing their masculinity. It looked as festive because they knew they would be getting whale-meat supply for their dinner for few months. The reasons were quite reasonable because we also would be happy if something good happened to us, right?

The chief medical officers of the Faeroe Islands had already recommended that  the pilot whales no longer could be considered fit for human consumption because of the levels of toxins in the whales. But, the Faeroese didn’t have any choice. 

The natural vegetation of the Faeroe Islands was dominated by Arctic-alpine plants, wild flowers, grasses, mosses and lichens. Most of the lowland area was grassland and some was heath, dominated by shrubby heathers, mainly Calluna vulgaris. The Faeroese nature was characterized by the lack of trees and resembles that of Connemara and Dingle in Ireland and the Scottish islands. Only few small plantations consisting of plants collected from similar climates like Tierra Del Fuelgo in South America and Alaska thrive on the islands. 

This fact showed that the land of Faeroese Islands was not suitable for plantations. It was a barren island. To avoid starvation they only had one solution-kill the whales!

Does killing animals is wrong in order to keep survive? We can say, “Ah, that’s cruel’’. But do we consider the reasons behind their acts? It can be right and it can be wrong. For me, the Faeroese has their rights to kill the pilot whales to avoid starvation. We also have to consider that animal killing doesn’t only occur at the Faeroese Islands, it may occur in your own country due to your own ignorance. If you really care about the animals, please think about deforestation first. Many animals become threatened or extinct because of it. You also should consider about another issue which is mass slaughter among human. Can’t we see the Palestinian suffered so much for many years? Innocent people keep dying without reasons. How can we talk about animal killing if we never considered about human killing? Doesn’t it make sense? Just THINK.