A dolphin hunt in the Faroe Islands is going viral after observers reported that more than 700 Atlantic white-sided dolphins were killed in a single day, Oceanographic Magazine reported. Some were allegedly slaughtered using methods that violated local rules.
Eyewitness accounts are fueling outrage online, where conservation groups say the scale of the killing and the reported lack of proper equipment made it one of the worst dolphin-killing days in the islands' history.
According to Oceanographic, the killings took place on Wednesday during three separate "grind" hunts across the Faroe Islands, a North Atlantic archipelago about 200 miles north of Scotland.
In total, 706 dolphins were driven ashore and killed, including 406 in a single drive in the capital, Tórshavn.
The incident is drawing widespread attention after marine conservation group Sea Shepherd said observers on site documented scenes it described as "prolonged suffering." They saw dolphins pinned against rocks, struck by propellers, and in some cases killed without the legally required spinal lance.
And even so, according to OceanCare, no one has proven that the spinal lance is actually a humane method of killing.
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"The events unfolding this week are not a cultural tradition on display," said Valentina Crast, Campaign Director for the Faroe Islands at Sea Shepherd, as reported by Oceanographic. "They are chaotic scenes of extreme animal cruelty, producing a death toll exceeding two thirds of last year's entire annual figure."
Crast also stated to the outlet that a third hunt was deliberately hidden from public channels. Two of Sea Shepherd's crew members were later arrested after whalers said they had interfered. The group said they were only documenting what happened.
"Nobody can ever justify this level of intense suffering inflicted on innocent animals. We call on governments across Europe to stand up to see these hunts banned once and for all," Crast concluded, as relayed by Oceanographic.
Faroese authorities, meanwhile, continue to defend the grind as a centuries-old cultural tradition with regulated procedures. Their stance will likely draw even sharper international criticism after this week's events.
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