The Faroe Islands Has Cruelly Slaughtered 131 Whales In The Past 24 Hours

The Faroe Islands has kicked off its annual whale hunt with killing more than 100 of the sea creatures in just 24 hours.

Save the Reef reports a whopping 131 pilot whales were brutally slaughtered overnight, despite being protected by the Bern Convention on Wildlife.

The animal conservation group is continuing to campaign for the country to ban the practice that goes back around 1,000 years.

It wrote on Instagram: "The Faroese eat dolphin meat and defend a tradition called 'Grindadrap', which allowed their ancestors to survive in a hostile climate while today, their supermarkets are full of food of all kinds and yet the hunting persists anyway.

"On average, 800 cetaceans are killed each year in the Faroe Islands in the name of 'tradition' despite less than 20 per cent of the islanders even consuming pilot whale meat and blubber anymore.

"Once we spread enough awareness and there is enough public outcry about this then barbaric traditions like this will stop once and for all."

Blue Planet Society claims many more have been killed over the past few days and are begging the Faroe government to stop the tradition.

They've launched a petition on Change.org, which has attracted nearly half a million signatures. It calls on the leaders of the Faroe Islands and Japan to stop all whaling hunts, which are estimated to kill tens of thousands of animals every year.

Around 100,000 pilot whales swim in the seas near the Faroe Islands, a North Atlantic archipelago that sits between Norway and Iceland.

While all hunters must have a hunting license, the practice often comes under fire from animal rights activists.

According to Sea Shepherd UK, the hunt can take hours to complete. Fishermen trap the animals, and blunt hooks are then beaten into their blowholes. The pilot whales are then dragged onto the sand where they have their spinal cords sliced.

Back in 2014, Sea Shepherd had been able to stop the slaughter and save 'hundreds' of animals.

However, the organisation's efforts proved to be something of a 'double edged sword' as they triggered the passing of a local law prohibiting any of its ships to enter the archipelago.

Topics: News, Whales, Animals

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

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