Sea Turns Blood Red As 800 Whales Are Lured & Killed In Denmark’s Shocking Annual Tradition

Every place has its own unique customs and traditions. A town called Ivrea in Italy, for example, celebrates the ‘Battle of the Oranges’ festival by throwing the fruit at each other. The Faroe Islands (an autonomous part of Denmark) also have an age-old tradition by the name of grindadráp or the whale hunt.

What exactly is Grindadráp? Why is it important to the locals?

Every year, the Danish locals indulge in ‘whaling’ or killing pilot whales and white-sided dolphins by hand. Business Insider quoted the government statement saying,

“The meat and blubber of pilot whales have long been – and continue to be – a valued part of the national diet. Catches are shared largely without the exchange of money among the participants in a whale drive and residents of the local district where they are landed. Each whale provides the communities with several hundred kilos of meat and blubber – meat that otherwise had to be imported from abroad.”

The Government and environmental activists are at loggerheads over the tradition. While the former claims it is sustainable, the latter declares it barbaric slaughter.

According to the official government reports,

“The pilot whale hunt in the Faroe Islands is sustainable. The long-term annual average catch of pilot whales in the Faroe Islands represents less than 1% of the total estimated stock.”

The graphic images show how the waters have turned red with blood.

The locals’ claim that all meat involves the slaughter of animals is a fair point. So is self-sufficiency of the islands. But with increased awareness about protecting our oceans and the EU imposing a ban on capture/killing of whales and dolphins, shouldn’t the custom be revisited? What do you think?

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