Sea Shepherd recently completed a scouting tour of the Faroe Islands. Four members of the Operation GrindStop 2014 team spent several days visiting the killing beaches and testing new tools and devices. We are getting ready for the presence of hundreds of onshore and at sea volunteers who will be standing guard at the beaches for over four months in order to sound the alarm, interfere, and document should a Grind be attempted there.

Sea Shepherd crew met with the Chief of Police and several members of the Faroese police force. We had a cordial conversation during which the police provided us with information about the laws and regulations to observe while protesting the grind. We explained to the police that we would stand our ground and defend the whales.

The press reported on our movements and we conducted multiple interviews with media outlets.

Sea Shepherd encountered several Faroese locals who showed open hostility toward our presence and cause, but we met others who share our desire and determination to end the slaughter here.

Many individuals have already requested applications to join the crew, but may not have heard back from the GrindStop 2014 team. We are organizing the campaign at present time and everyone who has already contacted the team should soon be hearing from us. We need you and we need many more volunteers to rise to the challenge and stand in defense of the whales and dolphins.

Operation GrindStop 2014, has one goal and that it is to see no cetaceans killed in the Faroe Islands. Should a slaughter (Grind) occur, Sea Shepherd will do everything that we can to non-violently interfere with the slaughter. Some of us may have to go to jail, but that is a small price to pay to save a whale or dolphin. It is even possible that a bloodlust-crazed whale killer could assault volunteers. We will be prepared to defend ourselves if necessary. If a Grind occurs, we will thoroughly document and broadcast the barbaric events. The world will be watching and we will show the truth of the slaughter.

The Grind is historic in the Faroe Islands, with records going back hundreds of years (although the use of motorboats, of course, is more recent). Grind supporters will argue that without the historic consumption of the whale meat, the people would not have survived and that the whales are believed to be a “gift” from God. The current reality, however, is that not a single person in the Faroes would go hungry, and certainly no one would starve, if no more whales were killed. In fact, the whale meat is highly toxic (from mercury and chemicals deposited into the oceans by humans) and it is common in the Faroes for children and women of childbearing age to avoid consumption of the meat. Also, further evidence is surfacing that strongly links consumption of the meat to Parkinson’s disease. The bottom line is that the Grind is totally unnecessary, unhealthy, barbaric, and should join commercial whaling in the exhibits of history museums. The Faroes have a culture rich in literature, architecture, dress, music, art, and dance. There is no need for the Faroese to cling to the slaughter.

The true “gift” of the whales in the Faroes is found in the living whales and small cetaceans. The Faroese have a choice and an opportunity. Because of the presence of onshore crew during the campaign, we too will have a story to tell. The story can be one of harmony with the oceans, in which the Faroe Islands are an inviting place for tourists and world travelers. Or the story can be one of barbaric outdated customs overriding common sense, thus making the Faroes a place to be shunned by tourists and whose products are to be avoided.

The campaign has sea- and shore-based components. The sea-based positions are filled. We need volunteers for the onshore crew. As a member of a dedicated team of international Sea Shepherd activists, you will help Sea Shepherd protect Pilot Whales, Atlantic White-Sided dolphins, Risso’s dolphins and Harbour porpoises – the four species killed on the Faroe Islands in their barbaric “traditional” drive hunts (called the “Grind” from the word “Grindadràp” or whale kill, in reference to the main species killed, which are Pilot Whales).

Since records began, over 265,000 small cetaceans have been killed in the Faroe Islands. Since July 20th, 2013, 1,499 dolphins and whales have been killed in Faroese Grind hunts. The majority of the Grinds take place between late June and the end of October. GrindStop 2014 will take place from early June through October 1st.

The whales and dolphins need you. Join the campaign today.

For the Oceans,

Scott West

and the GrindStop 2014 team

Sea Shepherd has been leading the opposition against the brutal slaughter of dolphins and whales in the Faroe Islands since 1983. In 2011, Sea Shepherd returned for our most recent Faroese campaign, Operation Ferocious Isles. No Grind hunts took place while Sea Shepherd patrolled the islands. That is still our goal: bring the Grind to a GrindStop. This summer, Sea Shepherd will once again be there to defend our clients in our largest Faroe Islands campaign to date, with crew patrolling the frontlines at sea and onshore. We need as many passionate and dedicated volunteers as possible to make this campaign a success. We have filled all at sea positions, and are looking for volunteers to join the onshore crew. “If you are able to join us in the Faroe Islands, please send your application to the Operation GrindStop 2014 team via the link below. If you have questions, please email GrindStop@seashepherdglobal.org

Fill out the campaign application online here: Grindstop 2014 On-Shore Crew Application