Today marked the commencement of the murder of hundreds of Pilot Whales in the North Atlantic. It is an event that takes place every year called “The Grind,” in the Faroe Islands (part of Denmark). This event is the annual stranding and slaughtering of Pilot Whales. Each summer about 950 Long Finned Pilot Whales are murdered, an ancient tradition that dates back to Norse ancestry.
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The Faroese compile their boats in a semicircle, pushing the whales to the bottom of the fjord and towards shore. Once the mammals are beached, they are murdered with a special knife, a grindaknivur used to cut the dorsal area through to the spinal cord. The length of death takes anywhere from a few seconds to …minutes. While murdering hundreds of mammals, the Faroese sing Raske drenge, grind at dræbe det er vor lyst, translation: tough boys, to slay the grind that’s our desire. Keep in mind in 1985 harpooning and spearing was made illegal because it was cruel to the mammals.
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The Grind seems to be a modern bastardization of tradition, as in Bequia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines they also have an annual whaling season. But they only kill a whale or two each year, if they can catch any (which does not happen yearly), and use ancient techniques, of jumping off a long hand crafted canoe with a spear, endangering the humans, as much as the whale in the process.
It should be noted that even the Faroese authorities have released statements saying Pilot Whales are not safe for human consumption because of the high toxins in their meat. Yet continue to eat this poisonous meat because it is rich in social and cultural identity.
The tradition is engrained into the small Nordic islands’ culture, society and identity, but killing pregnant, pups and unborn whales from the womb of whales certainly cannot be a point of enlightenment. Pilot Whales are also not the only cetacean that may be murdered, the list also includes, Bottlenose Dolphin (like flipper), White-Breaked Dolphin, Atlantic White-Sided Dolphin and Harbour Porpoise.
It should be noted that even the Faroese authorities have released statements saying Pilot Whales are not safe for human consumption because of the high toxins in their meat. Yet continue to eat this poisonous meat because it is rich in social and cultural identity.
The tradition is engrained into the small Nordic islands’ culture, society and identity, but killing pregnant, pups and unborn whales from the womb of whales certainly cannot be a point of enlightenment. Pilot Whales are also not the only cetacean that may be murdered, the list also includes, Bottlenose Dolphin (like flipper), White-Breaked Dolphin, Atlantic White-Sided Dolphin and Harbour Porpoise.
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