WARNING: Graphic Images Below
Police in the Faroe Islands have filed formal criminal charges against grind whalers for the first time in history and the northern islands have suspended all hunts until the case is resolved.
Eighteen months after Sea Shepherd submitted irrefutable video evidence of a grind that left 90 surviving pilot whales abandoned in shallow water for 27 hours, the Faroese police have finally acted. This is the strongest legal challenge the grindadráp has ever faced on its own territory.
WATCH: Sea Shepherd Crews In The Faroes
The Incident That Broke Faroese Law
After killing 138 pilot whales, the whalers walked away to attend a festival, leaving approximately 90 exhausted survivors stranded in shallow water. For the next 27 hours Sea Shepherd filmed the whales in agony: repeated beaching attempts, struggling to breathe, mothers trying to keep calves afloat. Faroese law explicitly states that no whale may be left alive in shallow water after a grind. The violation was undeniable.
Charges Filed — Hunts Suspended in the North
The police have now laid formal charges. In immediate response, grind foremen across the northern islands announced there will be no further hunts until the case is resolved — effectively shutting down the winter season in that region.
An Ultimatum, Not a Concession
Valentina Crast, Sea Shepherd’s Faroe Islands Campaign Lead, makes it clear: the suspension is a calculated pressure tactic designed to intimidate police, prosecutors, and politicians by withholding whale meat — a powerful cultural and political symbol.
A Historic Showdown
This is the moment years of relentless documentation and international pressure have been building toward. If the charges are upheld, even “tradition” must obey the law. If they are dropped under political pressure, the whalers will believe they are untouchable.
Everything now rests on whether the Faroese prosecutor has the courage to stand firm. Sea Shepherd’s Operation Living Fjords will keep documenting, keep reporting, and keep the spotlight burning until justice is done.
Stand With Us in the Faroe Islands
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