Francesca Capozzi The massacre of pilot whales continues in the Danish Faroe Islands, where protests do not subside even after the latest news on the detention of Paul Watson. If Denmark wants to silence the founder of Sea Shepherd, activists continue his campaigns and have returned to the archipelago to document the Grindadráp
@Sea Shepherd
Denmark is currently at the center of the world’s attention, where the legendary savior of the oceans Captain Paul Watson was arrested based on an international arrest warrant. Sea Shepherd founder Watson is imprisoned for his actions in defense of whales and will stay behind bars at least until the start of October.
Meanwhile, the brutal killing of cetaceans is still continuing in Faroe Islands despite international resistance. This area becomes a venue for Grindadráp every year-a very merciless hunt for pilot whales and dolphins. The practice is truly extremely cruel and takes hundreds of lives, coloring all the waters around the archipelago in red.
Just this past weekend, more than 150 were killed. Sea Shepherd France reported this number, an NGO that has been fighting against the slaughter in the Faroe Islands for decades. Despite the Danish government’s efforts to keep environmentalists at a distance and unable to save the animals, the NGO’s activists continue to document this massacre of innocent creatures.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C_q1ju_OIKC/
Gruesome images emerge: whales and dolphins in agony
Videos shared online reveal the full extent of the agony experienced by these cetaceans, pierced by harpoons and disemboweled on land. Among them are also females killed with unborn fetuses. It is estimated that each year, over 1,000 pilot whales and dolphins lose their lives in this tragic manner in the Danish archipelago.
It is legal to carry out a slaughter in the Faroe Islands because there are no laws banning this practice. Whereas locals defend it as a part of their traditional culture, the Grindadráp is actually seriously hazardous regarding the protection of marine mammals and represents an unjustifiable macabre spectacle.
Environmental organizations continue campaigning, patrolling the archipelago and filming the events, pressing appeals urgently to the European Commission, and raising people’s awareness of the necessity to protect marine life in these areas by stopping the hunt.
If killing is the verb of the Grindadráp, opposition to this cry of suffering and resistance is the response of the environmentalists. And if Denmark hopes to deal a severe blow to the fight for ocean protection by keeping Paul Watson in custody, it is gravely mistaken.
Inspired by his words and actions, teams of activists continue to be the voice of the slaughtered marine mammals in a territory of great biodiversity. Like the whales, the battle will go on, with or without Paul Watson. The Grindadráp must end.
