OPINION | ‍IN DEFENCE OF THE GRIND IN DEFIANCE OF THE EU

An extraordinarily undiplomatic communique from the EU has been circulated to International Whaling Commission members. It calls upon the Faroese Government to immediately provide the same strict cetacean protection as the EU Member States. But the EU has neither a legal right nor a moral responsibility to tell the Faroe Islands, a decidedly non-EU autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, to stop hunting dolphins and whales.

But when it comes to appeasing the animal rights lobby, the EU, it seems, feels unburdened by protocols that otherwise compel it to respect other nations’ cultures and legal systems. The EU is waving its big stick at the Faroe Islands because last year’s one-day grind at Skalabotnur beach on the island of Ejsturoi corralled a record 1,423 white-sided dolphins.

The scale of this spectacular event, with its transparent but humane and regulated killing of wriggling mammals, sparked outrage among squeamish animal rights activists. So, what’s new? Certainly not the accusation in the communique that the Faroe Islanders were observed using “cruelty” and “torture” in last year’s grind. As the EU statement itself acknowledges:

“Even before this particular grind, grinds have been considered gruesome and unethical by parts of the civil society [they mean unaccountable NGOs] and by most of EU Member States.”

We should be thankful to the EU for forewarning us that no amount of regulatory measures short of prohibition will suffice. But saying this does not mean that we shouldn’t be concerned about what happened in the grind on September 12, 2021.

Source: bairdmaritime