...

i believe all of us in a way eat meat, use leather, killed flies/ants, use gasoline/plastics (waste from producing these are diverted to sea/river)... even vegetables are living things, they have cells, reproductive system and uses air, water and nutrients like us.

we are no different than these hunters. if they consume the meat then i guess it is justified. what is the difference between killing cows for meat and killing these whales for meat?

This hunting practice, while appearing violent, is nowhere near as harmful on the animals, or the environment, as the large scale industrial farming of cows, pigs and chickens. Faroese people hunt these wild animals sustainably, and do not sell the meat commercially, but the hunters rather give it away to the local communities when there is excess. They consume and utilize all parts of the animal. The hunt threatens less than 1% of the annual population of the pilot whale and they do not actively hunt them. Only when they come into proximity of the islands. A large part of this practice is indeed cultural, but it is primarily for food. Seafood is very important in the Faroe Islands as agriculture is limited due to the climate and lack of arable soil (they are volcanic islands). Imported food from Denmark, Iceland or other nations is very expensive. A significant issue is that of high levels of contamination in the porpoise meat, and that is the unfortunate result of worldwide industrial pollution of our oceans, a very limited amount of which originates from the Faroes.

horrible una pesadilla :(

very powerful shot...

Humans suck!

Disgusting ! What a tragedy - the death of such magnificent creatures and all for no reason :-(

this is madness

dramatic and colorful

I know this may be a culturally significant hunt, however it's too bad that as time passes that we cannot abandon certain things that are perhaps unnecessary in today's world.

The process reminds me of the American Indians strategy for hunting buffalo, where they would basically herd them over a cliff and then harvest them. But, it wasn't the Indians that killed off the buffalo for food and hides, the settlers killed them to the brink of extinction because they were a nuisance to farmers and ranchers...

I was recently in Coal Harbour, near the north end of Vancouver Island, and in a small museum there they told of the days when whaling expeditions set out from the town to hunt sperm whales. They had old photos of one they had killed and dragged up onto the shore that was over 95 feet long. Sperms whales have the largest brain of any mammal--or anything else, I believe. They are for the most part extinct now, certainly in these waters. Sperm whales were the largest living being on the planet. One, in fact, sunk a whaling ship (the Essex) by ramming it back in 1820 and inspired the story of Moby Dick. To think they are gone forever, for no good reason, is disturbing, to say the least, when you think about it.

I'm not sure but it seems to me that porpoises/dolphins seem to have been granted immunity from being hunted/fished by humans in a lot of areas, and it's too bad whales--being mammals also--can't enjoy similar rights.

I can see it if for some reason they were becoming overpopulated and tipping the balance of nature in the region, but I'm guessing this might not be the motivation for the hunt?

I'm not normally vocal about this sort of stuff, but seeing the pictures at Coal Harbour has made me think twice about some of these things. Anyway, enough said...

Not Fair...

This is absolutely disgusting and an very inhuman way of fishing and killing out ocean wildlife. I am very heart broken to see this image, and know that this still goes on in some places of our world.

I don't eat meat but I agree that mankind has long coexisted with killing animal and that in some cultures / places, this can still be done without killing Nature.

Amazing documentary.

Oh My god !

very good!

omg.... this is so sad...
very powerful soot

Great capture on a complex subject. Kudos on writing the description from a mostly unbiased point of view.

Great post.
Whaling around the world.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whaling

Very sad... Excellent work!