Powerful pictures from the Faroe Islands show the sea turned blood red after dozens of whales were killed by islanders in preparation for the harsh winter months.
Cambridge University student Alastair Ward, 22, photographed the traditional “whale driving” carried out by the community in the bay in Sandavágu.
Pilot whale meat and blubber are a food source that will help feed the 50,000 Faroese through winter. Locals have been carrying out the annual hunts for centuries, but the gruesome images will likely shock many outsiders.
Mr Ward said he had been stunned by the sheer number of whales in the bay. “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,” he told the Triangle News agency.
“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.”
The Faroese say the whaling they carry out is sustainable, catching around 800 pilot whales a year, with around 100,000 whales around the Faroe Islands.
Source: BBC
