Protecting whales and dolphins has always been at the heart of Sea Shepherd‘s mission. It’s more than just a cause—it’s a responsibility that requires deep reflection, humility, and a willingness to adapt to circumstances and time. The Faroe Islands hold a unique place in this work, where tradition meets change and global advocacy intersects with […]
Tag: pilot whales
Rare January Slaughter: A Grim Start to 2025
On January 10th, the Faroese whalers carried out the first grind of 2025 in Árnafjarðarvík, where 47 pilot whales were slaughtered, including an unknown number of pregnant whales and young calves. This unseasonable practice—occurring in the heart of winter—marks a disturbing shift in the timing and frequency of these hunts, which are already steeped in […]
Sea Shepherd’s Valentina Crast Speaks Out Against Whale Hunts
Sea Shepherd’s Faroe Islands Director, Valentina Crast, joined an expert panel on November 25, 2024, as part of the American Bar Association’s inaugural “Blue Crimes Webinar Series.” This session, titled “Legality of Dolphin and Whale Hunts,” examined the legal, ethical, and environmental implications of cetacean hunts worldwide. The event launched a three-part series addressing crimes […]
‘It’s nonstop’: how noise pollution threatens the return of Norway’s whales
From the moment that the biologist Dr Heike Vester presses play, the sound of the static of the fjord fills the room. First comes the constant, steady rumbling of a boat engine. Then, every eight seconds, like a foreboding bass drum, comes the explosion of seismic airguns – extremely loud blasts used in oil and […]
Iceland and the Faroe Islands: Europe’s Last Bastions of Cetacean Slaughter
The fight to protect marine mammals from brutal hunting practices continues across Europe. Iceland and the Faroe Islands, two regions steeped in whaling and cetacean hunting traditions, have come under international scrutiny as their actions stand in stark contrast to global conservation efforts. Iceland’s Whaling Crisis Iceland’s last remaining whaling company, Hvalur hf., has faced […]
Sea turns red with blood in ‘the worst pilot whale slaughter campaigners have recorded’ as 138 of the creatures are driven into harbour and hacked to death in traditional ‘hunt’
The most brutal whale hunt campaigners say they have ever documented saw at least 138 pilot whales slaughtered as they were driven into a shallow harbour, in a gruesome ritual which lasted ‘hours’. The latest grindadrap in the Faroe Islands – a Viking tradition which sees the animals rounded up and hacked to death – […]
Research suggests that menopause explains why some female whales live so long
Females of some whale species have evolved to live drastically longer lives so they can care for their families, new research shows. The study focused on five whale species that—along with humans—are the only mammals known to go through menopause. The paper, published in the journal Nature, is titled “The evolution of menopause in toothed […]