The traditional methods used to drive and kill pilot whales in the Faroe Islands have for several years been the subject of an on-going veterinary monitoring programme, which has examined the times-to-death of individual animals in the hunt and the efficiency of the organisation of the drive and the equipment used.
Since 1994, the Faroe Islands have been taking active part in the NAMMCO Committee on Hunting Methods, which brings veterinary experts and hunters together on a regular basis to review and exchange experiences on methods and equipment used in whaling, sealing and walrus hunting and to make recommendations for improvements.
At the 1995 meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), a resolution was adopted unanimously by the Commission recognising the efforts made by the Faroese authorities and those who take part in pilot whaling to improve the methods used in the whale drive.
Innovations the equipment used in Faroese whaling, such as the introduction of the blunt-edged “blowhole” hook over the past 10 years, have always been developed on the initiative of people who are active and experienced participants in the whale drive.
A full description of the methods and equipment used in the Faroese whale drive is contained in the following paper:
Killing Methods and Equipment in the Faroese Pilot Whale Hunt. This paper is an English translation of a working paper by Senior Veterinarian, Jústines Olsen, originally presented in Danish at the NAMMCO Workshop on Hunting Methods for Marine Mammals, held in Nuuk, Greenland in February 1999. |
