Update: On May 4, 2024, the first brutal slaughter of the year took place in the Faroe Islands, turning the harbor of the town of Klaksvik red with the blood of 40 pilot whales. Without action, this horrific, unethical practice will continue to kill thousands, with more gruesome hunts planned throughout the year. Only One stands with the #DontVisitFaroe movement — urging travelers to reconsider their trips to the Faroe Islands until the cruel Grindadráp hunt is stopped. Learn more and join the campaign by following @DontVisitFaroeIslands on social media and sharing content from the Campaign Toolkit.

The Faroe Islands are known for their annual pilot whale hunt, a tradition called the Grindadráp or sometimes referred to as the Grind. The activity has been called into question by locals and health experts after decades of research have revealed the health consequences of consuming dolphin and pilot whale meat. Levels of carcinogens and toxins such as methylmercury and PCB have been rising within marine animals over the decades as a result of industrial pollution, leading to a number of health consequences including neurological and developmental damage.

Over 850 pilot whales were hunted last year alone, and since the turn of the century, more than 20,000 cetaceans — pilot whales, white-sided dolphins, and bottlenose dolphins — have been massacred off the Faroese shore.

Hunts are often prolonged and terror-inducing ordeals for these intelligent, social animals, where entire pods, including calves, are mercilessly butchered in the name of tradition. 

This campaign began in 2021, when an entire super pod of at least 1,428 white-sided dolphins was killed in a record hunt that even seasoned whalers have deemed unethical. The massive pod, as in all hunts, was driven onto the beach by a coordinated fleet of boats and jet skis to be killed one by one. Panicked dolphins, including pregnant females and calves, were traumatized over the course of several hours, in a hunt that reportedly spanned more than 45 kilometers.

We cannot allow these kinds of outdated practices to continue, as they diminish the ability of the ocean to support biodiversity, maintain ecological balance, and deliver vital ecosystem services. There is a limit to our ocean’s abundance, and we are getting dangerously close to it. Slaughtering thousands of dolphins and whales after allowing them to suffer crosses a line in the ethical treatment of our planet’s wildlife and threatens the reputation of a community that shares a deep-seated connection with the sea.

Add your voice to stop the reckless slaughter of dolphins and whales in the Faroe Islands.