Senator Lyndon Farnham condemned a recent hunt, in which a 1,428-strong pod of white-sided dolphins were driven into shallow waters at Skálabotnur beach in September and butchered.
‘I have no wish for us to participate in diplomatic relations with a country that condones this sort of thing,’ said Senator Farnham.
‘The [Faroe] government should be ashamed of themselves for allowing this so-called tradition to continue,’ he added.
Warning: A graphic Tweet picturing dolphins being slaughtered in the Faroe Islands is contained at the end of this story.
Senator Farnham said it was ‘essential’ that Jersey raised its concerns directly with the UK and the Faroe Islands. He has discussed the issue with the Council of Ministers and will speak further with External Relations Minister Ian Gorst.
‘I condemn in the strongest possible terms the needless and brutal slaughter of dolphins in the name of tradition,’ said Senator Farnham. ‘They need to be called to account.’
The minister added that the government should write to the Island Games Association ‘asking them to examine their relationship with the Faroe Islands and consider whether it is appropriate to allow their continuing participation whilst this practice continues’.
‘It simply defies belief what they have done,’ he said.
‘As islands surrounded by the sea, we have a great deal of respect for our water and for our marine life.’
The killing of pilot whales and dolphins is a centuries-old Faroese tradition, which has sparked widespread condemnation across the globe. Conservation group Sea Shepherd said it believed the 12 September ‘dolphin massacre’ was the largest single hunt of dolphins or pilot whales in Faroese history. The outcry led the island nation’s government to announce that it would review the hunt but, since then, more dolphins have been slaughtered.
Last week, Assistant Economic Development Minister Hugh Raymond, who has responsibility for sport, said Jersey should use its position as a member of the International Island Games Association to oppose the slaughter of dolphins.
‘You have to consider whether we want an island that is doing something like that,’ he said.
Former election candidate Roy Travert has written to all States Members asking them to bar the Faroe Islands from the games. He said the practice was a ‘despicable act’ from a nation that was an ‘intrinsic part’ of the games, an event in which 23 island nations compete every two years.
Meanwhile, Constable Karen Shenton-Stone said States politicians ‘should be sending out an extremely strong message that the slaughter of these magnificent and intelligent creatures is abhorrent’.
‘You cannot stand by and let people do things like this,’ she said, adding that the ‘needless slaughter is inexcusable, unnecessary and barbaric’.
‘I just think it is horrendous,’ said Mrs Shenton-Stone. ‘You want to be known as an island for conservation, not for slaughter. These are really intelligent animals.’
It was time that governments ‘stood up and said this is really not okay’, she said.
On Sunday night a super-pod of 1428 Atlantic White-Sided Dolphins was driven for many hours and for around 45 km by speed boats and jet-skis into the shallow water at Skálabotnur beach in the Danish Faroe Islands, where every single one of them was killed. https://t.co/uo2fAPhCDq
— Sea Shepherd (@seashepherd) September 14, 2021
