Thursday, September 2, 2010

Sea Shepherd In The Faroes

Sea Shepherd's been active in the last few weeks, taking its whale war of words and action to the Faroe Islands...
+ Last Tuesday, one of its Danish supporters filed a police claim against the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs for failure to abide by the Bern Convention, by allowing the Faroes pilot whale slaughter to continue. Pilot whales are protected under the Bern Convention, to which Denmark is a signatory. SS is particularly concerned with Chapter 3, Article 6 of the Convention which prohibits "all forms of deliberate capture and keeping and deliberate killing" as well as the "internal trade in these animals, alive or dead". So just where ARE the Faroes?SS says the islands are a territory of Denmark, the people are Danish citizens, and therefore the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Denmark is in violation of the Bern Convention. The Faroese argue they've had virtual autonomy since 1948 and are self-governing in most matters (including whaling). So this case may prove to be more symbolic than effective...
pilot whale fetus, Faroe Islands+ And the "grindadráps" or mass killings continue with 80 pilot whales slaughtered on 5th.August in Leynar: even pregnant females fell victim to the knives. Since SS filmed the Klaksvik "grind" of 19th.July, which killed 236 pilot whales, the Faroese have taken to covering the fetuses they tear out of dead females so they can’t be photographed, indicating that even they may be somewhat ashamed of their activities.
+ In an effort to steer the whales away from death, SS has teamed up with the Brigitte Bardot Foundation, and placed experimental accoustic devices in the water. The Faroese media reported a pod of pilot whales had escaped because of underwater sounds being broadcast. These devices can be left in the sea and will operate for weeks on batteries. They may be the key to saving many whales, detouring them away from the violent Faroese welcoming committees. The crew of SS's vessel Golfo Azzurro did not break any laws in this action, so the Danish Navy could only escort them - not board or arrest them.

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