MORE STORIES Sea turns blood red as entire village including young children rou

[Edoman]

Sea turns blood red as entire village including young children round up and slaughter 180 whales in preparation for the harsh winter months on the remote Faroe Islands

By Sara Malm For Mailonline11:34 16 Aug 2018, updated 13:18 16 Aug 2018

• [b]Images show pod of whales being rounded up for annual slaughter on Faroe Islands in the Atlantic[/b]
  
• [b]Meat and blubber from whales used to feed population of Danish archipelago for the rest of the year[/b]
  
• [b]Traditional method of killing whales turns bay in village of Sandavágur on Vágar island red[/b]
  
• [b]WARNING: Graphic content [/b]
  

[size=undefined]
These images show dozens of villagers on a remote Atlantic island hunting down and slaughtering a pod of whales, colouring the water red with blood.  
The practice, known as whale driving, saw children as young as five take part in the hunt of some 180 whales in the village of Sandavágur on Vágar island last month.
ADVERTISEMENT



Every summer, hundreds of pilot and beaked whales are killed across the Faroe Islands, a Danish archipelago located hundreds of miles off the Scottish coast between Norway and Iceland.  
Hunting season: Dozens of villagers on Vágar, Faroe Islands, gather to help out in the hunting and butchering of a pod of some 180 whales Learning early: Both adults and children take part in the slaughtering of the whale pod in village of Sandavágur on Vágar Butchers: The carcass of a whale is dragged through the water before it is cut up on land by the locals 


Whale driving on the Faroe Islands date back to the late 16th century and involve residents herding pods of whales into shallow waters.
They are then killed using a 'spinal lance' that is inserted through the animal's neck to break its spinal cord. [/size]



[size=undefined]
While locals have been carrying out the annual hunts ahead of the sparse winter months for centuries, with the meat served salted or cut into steaks and the blubber sliced up and eaten raw, the practice often come off as shocking and gruesome to outsiders.
Cambridge University student Alastair Ward, 22, was visiting the archipelago last month to celebrate his graduation when he and a friend stumbled across the whale hunt. 
Tradition: Whale herding looks brutal, but the local government has hit back at critics saying the hunt is sustainable and each whale provides several hundreds of kilos of food for the locals throughout the harsh winter monthsThe local government says the annual whale hunts ensures that those living on the Faroe Islands, which offers limited opportunities for farming, are able to import less food from abroadPull them in: Locals use ropes to pull in the whales' bodies in order to butcher them for meat and blubberBloody tradition: Several dead whales lay in the shallows, their blood colouring the sea water redAll in this together: When a pod of whales is herded into the bay, it is time for the whole village to get to work 
He said: 'We were walking round this bay when this family of locals ran over and said 'you're lucky, there's a whale coming'.
'We thought it would just be one being dragged in but more and more boats kept appearing on the horizon.
'I couldn't believe how many whales there were. They were driving them into the bay, prodding them with their oars.
'Once they got close enough, the whole town sprinted in and started hacking at them. Even the children were getting involved, pulling on the ropes and jumping on the carcasses.
'We were just sat there speechless and a bit upset but you couldn't really pull yourself away.'  He added: 'The squealing from the whales was horrible.
So it begins: Fishing boats are seen out at sea, herding the pod of whales into the bay of the villageTeam effort: As the whales reach the shore, dozens of villagers run out into the water to take part in the huntHunted: The whales have been driven into the shallows where locals then jump in and kill them using a 'spinal lance'Two young Faroe men have killed a whale  which is now bleeding out into the waterAftermath: The bay on a Faroe Island is red with whale blood after the hunt is overRemote location: The islands, which are a part of Denmark, are located in the Atlantic - between Norway and Iceland
'They were putting hooks on ropes in their blowholes to pull them in and then hacking at them with knives. They didn't die in a very humane way.
'A lot of the locals were all saying how it's the same as farming but I couldn't really agree with that.
'Children were jumping on top of them. They just have such a different attitude to us because they're brought up on it.'
The hunt has been criticised by animal rights campaigners in the past, who say the ritual is cruel and unnecessary. 
However, the local government says the hunting is not only sustainable, but ensures that the islands, which has a limited opportunities for farming, are as self-sufficient as possible.




Each whale provides several hundreds of kilos of meat and blubber, food which would otherwise have to be imported from abroad to the islands at a cost to the locals and the environment. 
[/url]
See more top stories from DailyMail[/size]

[size=undefined]


Husband of pregnant woman who went missing with their two daughters is arrested after 'confessing to...


Michael Schumacher is set to be transferred from his home in Lake Geneva to £27 million Majorcan...


Killer and his friends 'fist-bumped and celebrated like he'd won an Olympic medal' after he beat...


Is Britain's property bubble about to burst? Fears grow as house prices fall at the fastest rate...


Overall A-level pass rates drop to their lowest level for EIGHT YEARS as major shake-up of exams...


'They've not given him a f***ing dime back': Thomas Markle is growing 'increasingly bitter' his...


Horrifying footage emerges of teenage boy 'trying to throw his girlfriend in front of a train'


Female Home Office employees are refusing to use new £36,000 gender-neutral toilets because they...


'Mortified' England rugby ace Danny Cipriani is fined £2,000 for assaulting bouncer, resisting...


Couple rescue a baby girl from a hot car in sweltering 88F temperatures as her parents lie passed...


NINE bridges in Italy have collapsed in five years. How can anyone feel safe driving there? TOBIAS...


Female teacher was 'caught lying naked on top of 17-year-old sixth-form girl and having...


American tourist ties 'bag thief' to a signpost in Ireland and calls the police to come and arrest...


Lotto winner Callie Rogers was left needing hospital treatment after pair of dogsitters dragged her...


Doctor marched off EasyJet plane at gunpoint after complaining he had lost his seat with extra leg...


My father, the very rotten Apple: Steve Jobs's iPhone giant has become the world's first $1trillion...





DON'T MISS[/size]

• [b][url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-6066975/amp/TOWIE-beauty-Amber-Turner-locks-hands-boyfriend-Dan-Edgar-glam-night-stars.html?ico=amp_dontMiss] she locks hands [/b]