Three Sea Shepherd crew members have been arrested while another two have been detained after they tried to defend pilot whales from slaughter in the Faroe Islands yesterday.

Approximately two hundred pilot whales were slaughtered on the beaches of the Danish Faroe Islands during a traditional Faroese hunt.

The Sea Shepherd volunteers were arrested by the Danish authorities after they followed a flotilla of small boats which drove the pod heading for a ‘grindadap’ - a traditional Faroese hunt where the migrating pilot whales are herded into a bay and are slaughtered by hand.

Sea Shepherd land team leader Rosie Kunneke from South Africa and Christophe Bondue of Belgium were also arrested after police tackled the pair after they ran onto the beach.

CEO of Sea Shepherd Global, captain Alex Cornelissen said Kunneke and Bondue were looking out for the welfare of the animals.

“Anyone who knows Rosie knows how passionately she cares for animals. Seeing Rosie and Christophe thrown to the ground today for defending these whales, and then dragged away as the carnage began, was an absolutely heart-wrenching sight,” said Cornelissen.

A legal representative has been brought-in to act on behalf of the arrested and detained Sea Shepherd volunteers.