"Киты думали, что играют с людьми..."

Anastasia,

Each summer in Denmark's Faroe Islands, hundreds of dolphins and whales are lured in to shore and then brutally slaughtered.When activists try to intervene and protect the whales, the Danish Navy arrests them.

The government needs to stop supporting this horrifying slaughter. Sue started a Care2 petition asking the government to stop the Faroe Island whale hunt, and stop using government resources to support it. Click here to add your name.

Pilot whales are slaughtered in the highest numbers, but bottlenose dolphins, Atlantic white-beaked dolphins and harbor porpoises are also killed. Dolphins and whales are incredibly intelligent, playful creatures. When the hunters surround them to drive them to the shore, the animals don't know that they're about to die – they think they're just playing with humans.

Once the dolphins and whales are beached, gasping and terrified, hunters stab the animals in the spines, severing their spinal cord and the major blood supply to the brain. Whales or dolphins that could potentially escape back into the water are hooked in their blowholes and dragged onto the beach, rendering them helpless as the cries from their families rise around them.

People on the islands used to eat the whale meat from the hunt, but the local chief medical officers have declared that pilot whale meat now contains too much mercury to be safe for human consumption. This means these innocent animals are being killed solely as part of an antiquated ritual meant to demonstrate masculinity. Now is the time to stop the Faroe Island whale slaughter.

The Faroe Islands are an autonomous state in Denmark, but the Danish government is clearly expending resources to protect the hunt. If enough of us speak out and demand an end to the massacre, the government will be forced to respond, and withdraw support from the Faroe Islands. Add your name now to demand an end to the slaughter.

Jen The Care2 Petitions Team