There's an email floating about the killing of Calderon dolphins in Denmark. It's a bloody, savage tale of the brutal slaughter of curious dolphins who swim up and greet young people who then hack at them with hooks until they die. It is done to mark the passage into manhood.
* The bloody waters of a whale massacre. Some images were so violent, I refuse to share them.*
There are many misstatements in the letter. The offenders are actually Faroe Islanders, a province of Denmark with complete autonomy from all but international affairs. The monarchy has not had the power to change its practices since a declaration in 1948.
The animals in question are pilot whales, not dolphins. They are not an endangered species. The Faroe islanders diet largely consists of whale blubber. The whales are killed in mass in the summers. They are corralled and gaffed to shore. Their necks are cut to sever the spinal chord. It is a horrifying endeavor that has been practiced for 300 years.
The hunts or "grindadráp", are considered to be a part of the Faroese culture. Many organizations, such as Greenpeace, consider the practice cruel and unnecessary and are actively trying to stop it. Pressuring Denmark will not work. Sign the petitions of a larger organization. This email, aside from causing awareness to the gruesome slaughter, is ineffectual.
You can sign a petition to stop the killing of long finned pilot whales at Care2 .
