Faroe Island Summer Killing Season Continues With 116 More Pilot Whales Killed
OceanCare condemns the continued killing of pilot whales in the Faroe Islands, with 116 more animals killed at Tjørnuvík on 20th July, adding to over 450 whales already killed this summer in what the organisation calls unnecessary, unsustainable and cruel hunts.
PRESS RELEASE – 23 July 2025
Faroe Island Summer Killing Season Continues With 116 More Pilot Whales Killed
- Latest hunt at Tjørnuvík brings total pilot whale deaths this summer to over 450 animals, with the authorities maintaining exclusion zones to keep witnesses away
- Marine conservation experts strongly condemn the continuation of what they describe as unnecessary and inherently cruel drive hunts
- OceanCare calls for an end to the killing, citing recent scientific evidence of extreme animal suffering
The killing of pilot whales in the Faroe Islands continued on 20th July with 116 animals driven ashore and slaughtered at Tjørnuvík, a tiny village of just 50 houses and around 70 residents. About 15 boats were used by hunters to drive the whales to their deaths, whilst authorities once again declared an exclusion zone – a ‘grind area’ - to keep witnesses away from the hunt. All unauthorised boats, ships, aircraft/turbines, drones and persons are banned from this area.
This latest kill follows earlier hunts this summer, including 49 whales killed at Bø on 5th July and a massive pod of approximately 300 pilot whales hunted and killed at Leynar on 12th June, bringing the total number of pilot whales killed in the islands this year to well over 450 animals.
Mark Simmonds , Director of Science at OceanCare comments:
“We strongly condemn this latest killing of 116 pilot whales at Tjørnuvík and the continuation of these cruel and unnecessary drive hunts throughout the summer. These are highly intelligent, deeply social animals with strong family bonds being systematically driven to their deaths. The fact that authorities are creating exclusion zones to keep witnesses away speaks volumes about the nature of these hunts.
“What happened at Tjørnuvík on Sunday represents the unnecessary killing of an entire social group of sentient marine mammals. These whales experienced fear, stress and suffering as they were chased by boats and forced into shallow water where they were killed. As sentient beings, these pilot whales will have understood what was happening to themselves and to their family members as they were systematically driven to their deaths. There is simply no justification for this cruelty in the 21st century.”
OceanCare has campaigned against these drive hunts for over 30 years, arguing they are both unnecessary and inhumane in modern society. The organisation maintains that recent scientific evidence has confirmed the inherent cruelty of these hunting methods and calls for an immediate end to the practice.
Recently, renowned primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall has also joined calls to end the hunts, issuing an open letter to Faroese and Danish authorities highlighting the “undeniable cruelty of the methods used to corral and kill these mammals”.
ENDS
Media contact
- Dániel Fehér, Policy Communication Lead: +49 176 81434026; dfeher@oceancare.org
Notes to editors
During Faroese drive hunts of pilot whales (known locally as “grindadráp”), pods of pilot whales and other dolphins are driven into bays using motor vessels, where they are stranded in shallow water and then killed. The method involves inserting hooks into the animals' blowholes and hauling them into shallow water before driving a ‘spinal lance’ into their necks, and then making further cuts with knives. Recent independent scientific assessment has concluded these methods are “ethically and morally unacceptable” given modern understanding of cetacean welfare and sentience.
All unauthorised boats, aircraft, drones and persons are banned from designated “grind areas” during hunts, with exclusion zones extending up to “one quarter”, i.e. 1,852 metres in all directions – including upwards. This practice of keeping witnesses away has become increasingly common during recent hunts.
OceanCare has been campaigning against Faroese whale and dolphin hunts since 1992, when founder Sigrid Lüber presented a petition with 42,000 signatures to the International Whaling Commission. The organisation argues that these hunts cause unnecessary suffering to highly intelligent marine mammals and are no longer justified in a modern, prosperous society.
Recent polling in the Faroe Islands shows that whilst there remains support for pilot whale hunting, the majority of Faroese people do not participate in whaling or regularly consume whale products. Public opposition to dolphin hunting is particularly strong, with 69% opposed according to a 2022 Gallup poll.
The Faroese authorities claim the hunts are humane, sustainable and culturally important. However, critics argue that the methods used would not be acceptable for killing livestock, that the practice destroys entire social groups of long-lived, slow-breeding animals, and that cultural traditions must evolve with modern understanding of animal welfare.
Publications
- Dr. Jane Goodall & JGI’s Cetacean Committee: Open letter on whale hunting in the Faroe Islands
- Dr Alick Simmons: Capture and killing of small cetaceans in the Faroe Islands is inhumane and offers little scope for improvement, Frontiers in Marine Science, 2024
- OceanCare and partner organisations: Unravelling the truth: Whale killing in the Faroe Islands, 2023
- OceanCare: Creating winds of change: 30 years of campaigning on Faroe Islands whale & dolphin hunts
About OceanCare
OceanCare is an international marine conservation non-governmental organisation, founded in Switzerland in 1989. The organisation pursues the protection and restoration of the marine environment and marine wildlife with a strong policy focus, combining research, conservation projects and education. OceanCare’s remit includes marine pollution, climate change, marine mammal hunting and the environmental consequences of fisheries. Its work is supported by a team of scientific, legal and policy experts, and involves strategic collaboration with civil society organisations and coalitions around the world. OceanCare is an officially accredited partner and observer to several UN conventions and other international fora. www.oceancare.org --
OceanCare Dániel Fehér, Policy Communication Lead Gerbestrasse 6 CH-8820 Waedenswil - Switzerland +49 176 81434026 dfeher@oceancare.org www.oceancare.org