22/04/2026
Yesterday, off Viðareiði, around 100 pilot whales swam past the Faroe Islands unharmed. A quiet afternoon. A pod allowed to keep moving with locals seeming to enjoy watching them.
This is what was missing from almost every story about the grindadráp for the last forty years: the possibility of not.
In June 2024, a grindadráp took place at Hvannasund. Palli, our honorary ambassador on the ground, documented it and filed a formal complaint under the Faroese Animal Welfare Act (amended 17 March 2022). The law is theirs, not ours. It states that animals have intrinsic worth, independent of their usefulness to humans, and must not be subjected to unnecessary stress, fear or danger.
This isn't a defeat for the Faroese. It's a door that's been opened — by their own law, answered by their own restraint. Faroese animal welfare law is clear. Most Faroese do not want dolphins killed. What changes now is whether the language, and the practice, catch up with what's already there.
To Palli — thank you for the years of careful, patient work on the ground. To the foremen — thank you for the pause. To the dolphins — keep swimming.
⸻
Palli's letter, in full:
I would like to lodge a complaint about the grindadráp that took place in Hvannasund on Saturday 1st June, continuing into Sunday 2nd June.
The Animal Welfare Act, as amended 17th March 2022, which applies on land as well as within our territorial waters, states that:
"Veiða og fiskiveiða skal, alt tað ber til, fremjast á djóravælferðarliga fullgóðan hátt."
And furthermore:
"Djór hava eginvirði, sum ikki er treytað av tí nyttuvirði, tey hava fyri fólk. Djór skulu viðfarast væl. Tey skulu ikki verða nervað ella órógvað óneyðugt, og tey skulu verjast fyri óneyðugari strongd og vandanum fyri hesum."
It is clear from the attached video that the grindadráp was not undertaken in a way that complied with this legislation.
The animals were herded and held for over five hours prior to the start of the killing. There were insufficient people on the beach for the number of animals, which resulted in the initial phase of killing taking 25 minutes. The site cordoned off for the killing was different from the usual location and this resulted in additional suffering due to rocks and the concrete wall.
The remaining live animals were then held unnecessarily for a further 90 minutes after the instruction to stop had been issued.
The Whaling Act makes clear that whatever remains of the whales shall then be driven back out to sea. In this case, the herding was poorly undertaken with animals not properly pushed out of the fjord to the sea. One adult was throwing rocks at the pod.
The failure to properly drive the animals out, as required by law, further escalated the duration and level of suffering of the animals in a way that was not necessary. The live members of the pod showed increasing levels of stress as time passed. This stress then resulted in many additional deaths overnight.
The decision to call a grindadráp when there were so few people to undertake the killing swiftly for the number of animals, in combination with the current fuel shortage, is questionable and it clearly falls short of the standards required in Faroese law.
I am therefore making a formal complaint against the grindadráp foreman and have attached video footage showing the lengthy killing time and the animals being held for a long time after the killing was stopped. The duration of the drive and the holding period in advance has been clearly documented by the press and these times can be confirmed by the AIS of the vessels involved.
Finally I have attached a short video clip of the individual throwing rocks in order that action may also be taken against him.
Yours,
