OPINION: The mass killing of 1,428 white-sided dolphins in the Faroe Islands as part of the grind - a scale of slaughter so great as to turn the stomachs of locals who have previously supported the ‘tradition’ - has prompted the Faroese prime minister to pledge a review of the hunt. But after years of increasing worldwide attention and condemnation, why has it taken so long and will it amount to anything?

Every year around this time, social media is flooded with images of the butchered and mutilated bodies of countless whales and dolphins, their lifeblood turning the waters of the Faroe Islands’ bays red, much to the delight of blood-thirsty locals indulging in what they say is an important tradition stretching back to the Viking era.

Ocean protection groups have done what they can over the years to draw as much worldwide attention to the practice of herding pilot whales, yet it has taken the unprecedented slaughter of almost 1,500 dolphins - more than six times the number killed in one day than in an entire day, normally - for the Faroese government to think twice about the Grind. Sea Shepherd, which has campaigned against the Grind since the 1980s, said the numbers killed this year dwarfed even an entire season at the infamous “Cove” at Taiji, Japan.

It beggars belief that it’s taken so long, in an age when optics are everything and images spread across Instagram and other social media in minutes. In times gone by, the meat from the slaughtered whales and dolphins, shared amongst the hunters and among local villagers, would have been an important source of nutrition for an isolated population. Those times, however, are no longer. Instead, the Faroese cling to a bygone tradition that has no relevance today, but perhaps attitudes are changing.

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“I get nauseous seeing this kind of thing,” said one Facebook commentator, with another describing the massacre as “full-on terrible” and adding: “I’m embarrassed to be Faroese.”

Heri Petersen, chair of the local Grind hunting association, said too many dolphins had been herded from too far away, with too few people waiting on the beach to kill them. He said “I’m appalled at what happened. The dolphins lay on the beach writhing for far too long before they were killed.”

Local condemnation of this year’s hunt has been fierce, however, the overriding attitude seems to be that dolphins should not be killed in those numbers as they have never been part of the Grind tradition, but killing pilot whales in however many numbers is fine. In other words, the Faroese blame hunters for herding dolphins, but not the Grind itself for happening.

As to what may come of the apparent review, an outright ban seems unlikely without local support. Instead, we can expect a ramping up of toothless regulations already in place, including a requirement to use a special harpoon hook, and a law that requires everyone who kills an animal to take a course on how to do it properly and be licensed. The harpoon is ineffective on dolphins, meaning that many were slaughtered using knives.

Some Faroese have blamed the inexperience of Grind leaders for poor decisions, but the fact remains that this would never have happened if the Grind had been brought to an end. Like the Vikings, the Grind should be consigned to the pages of history.

Andrew Gough is Media and Investigations Manager for Surge.

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