Passengers aboard a luxury cruise ship watched in horror Sunday as their vessel docked at a small island where locals yielding knives and metal rods were killing wild dolphins as part of a centuries-old mass hunting tradition.
The North Atlantic Ocean off the coast of the Faroe Islands was red with the blood of 78 long-finned pilot whales that were hunted by men in the island’s capital of Torshavn, Yahoo News Australia reported.
As the Faroese tradition of grindadráp took place Sunday, passengers aboard a docked Ambassador Cruise Line ship were horrified to watch how locals have harvested their food for centuries.
The British cruise ship operator has since issued an apology on Twitter, noting they were “disappointed that this hunt occurred at the time that our ship was in port.”
“We strongly object to this outdated practice,” the cruise operator added, referencing the mass hunting tradition, which has long sparked outrage among conservationists.
Grindadráp, or grind for short, occurs each summer and involves the mass killing of sea mammals like the long-finned pilot whale — which is a dolphin, despite its name.
Images of the event showed dolphins of all ages drenched in blood on the shore and stuffed in bins. Men leaving the scene were photographed covered in blood and carrying knives.
Hunters on boats began herding the dolphins around 3:30 p.m. Sunday. Soon after, locals on shore took out their knives to begin hunting the animals, witnesses told Yahoo.
All of the sea mammals were killed in 20 minutes, according to witnesses.
While the practice is largely opposed by international animal rights organizations, locals see the importance in sourcing their own, natural food.
“We are very proud of this practice and we will continue as long as we decide,” Faroese whale expert Bjarni Mikkelsen told Yahoo in May.
The British cruise liner received a mixed response to its apology to stunned passengers — with some slamming the operator for criticizing local tradition while others called for a boycott of the island altogether.
“You have done the unforgivable — as a guest spit into the face of the host,” one person commented in response to the apology.
“If you don’t care for our culture or way of living why are you even coming to our islands?,” another asked.
The cruise line argues boycotting the island wouldn’t make a difference to local attitudes about the mass killing of sea mammals.
The Faroe Islands have been a semi-autonomous region since 1948 and are not part of the European Union, allowing whaling traditions to continue without restrictions.
