SUFB 1211: Questions around the legality of killing 1400 white-sided dolphins in the Faroe Islands circulate

There was a cull of 1400 white-sided dolphins in the Faroe Islands recently has some people wanting to know if it was legal. 

Whaling of pilot whales and other small cetaceans is legal in the Faroe Islands as the local community relies on whale meat as their primary protein source. The small island autonomous territory has been culling whales for centuries. The meat is processed in the open bays and handed out for free to the local community. 

The average catch per year is approximately 800 pilot whales and 250 white-sided dolphins; however, the total number of dolphins killed was 1400 individuals. That is 6 times the normal amount of dolphins and almost twice as many individuals as pilot whales.

There seemed to be a number of questions surrounding the cull of the dolphins including: were there enough killers present, did some boats run over the dolphins,  was all of the meat used, etc. 

You may feel that the cull is inhumane, but I ask you to keep an open mind to some of the questions and understand that these are people on a small island with access to very little natural resources in food other than the oceans. 

I should also mention that I am not for cetacean hunting. I just found this story interesting to look at from a different perspective. 

Link to article: https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/15/europe/faroe-dolphin-killing-record-scli-intl-scn/index.html 

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