On July 9th., 193 pilot whales were herded onto the beach at Húsavík (on the island of Sandoy, Faroe Islands). This town has an aging population of 126 and there were not enough hands available to kill the whole pod at once. So, at the end of the day - contrary to Faroes law – the 24 survivors were tied to boats by their tails. Thrashing about in panic and trying to make contact with their family members, the terrified whales spent the whole night tied to the boats in the bloody water before they were slaughtered the next day!
This particular “grind” was doomed from the beginning. There were far too few helpers on-hand and the local police chief responsible knew exactly that the majority of residents were too old: 25% were aged over 65 and most of them could not participate in this exhausting hunt. [Only 1300 people live on the entire cluster of Sandoy islands. In contrast there were 1870 participants in the hunt of 108 pilot whales which took place at Thorshavn (pop.19,800), capital of the Faroes.]
It's estimated the Húsavík whales would produce about 90,000kg of meat and blubber. So every person living on the island of Sandoy would receive a share of 70kg, enough for a year’s supply if every person eats a 200gm steak every day! Of course this would be completely contrary to medical advice, which strongly recommends residents consume whale meat and blubber no more than once or twice a month because of high toxin contamination. The Húsavík meat mountain therefore could not be consumed by the small amount of people living on Sanvoy, and is being sold in open and black markets (a fact constantly denied by FI).
Both the German Whale and Dolphin Protection Forum (WDSF) and PROWAL organisations have sued the police in charge of the hunt on the Faroe Islands for animal abuse.
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