An anti-whaling activist has warned it may take a generation before the “ecological obscenity” of slaughtering whales and dolphins is “extinguished”. Paul Watson, who last month was removed from international police body Interpol’s most-wanted list, is determined to end the killing of the animals in the Faroe Islands – an archipelago 200 miles north of Scotland.
Writing in the Express, he said: “It is a long process of civil disobedience, protests, and boycotts, and it may take a generation before this ecological obscenity is extinguished.” He added: “The children of the Faroe Islands suffer the highest concentration of methyl mercury in their bodies than any other group of children in the world. It appears that the Faroese dolphin killers have no problem jeopardising the health of their own children to maintain and defend an antiquated, bloody and barbaric tradition.”
Campaigners have said the UK’s £1.3billion imports of Faroese fish each year props up the industry which fuels the hunts.
Whaling in the Faroe Islands, or grindadráp, happens most often during the summer although a hunt can be called at any time.
Locals surround pods using speed boats then drive them towards shore where they are slaughtered using sharp lances, similar to a spear.
Faroese are fiercely defensive of the hunt which is an important part of their culture and traditions.
Whale meat and blubber remain a popular dish despite concerns about the high levels of mercury.
Mr Watson said: “Forty-two years ago, I would not have found a single Faroese opposed to the grind. People around the world, including the people of Denmark, were oblivious to this brutal massacre of cetaceans.
“Today, support for the grind among the population of the Faroe Islands is dropping. More people around the world, and especially Denmark, are now aware of it.
“Today, we have Faroese citizens actively opposing the killing. To me, that is progress— slow progress maybe, but progress, nonetheless.”
The activist, who was jailed for several months last year in Greenland, is wanted by Japan over an encounter with a whaling ship.
The 74-year-old is a former head of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, whose high seas confrontations with whaling vessels have drawn support from celebrities and featured in the reality television series “Whale Wars.”
Japan wanted his extradition over an encounter with a Japanese whaling research ship in 2001, when he was accused of obstructing the crew’s official duties by ordering the captain of his ship to throw explosives at the whaling ship.
The Canadian-American was arrested and jailed on the Japanese warrant last year in Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, but released after five months.
