Recently, more than 1,428 white-sided dolphins were brutally killed on the beaches of the Faroe Islands. Their hunters used techniques that were cruelly unethical and needlessly drawn-out. This must stop.

On September 12th, a fleet of whalers chased a dolphin superpod for several hours driving them 45 kilometers towards the shore. They forced them onto the beach and then began systematically killing them.  Heavily outnumbered by the sea mammals, the whalers struggled to kill them all, leaving many terrified dolphins to suffocate on the shore.

Whaling in Faroe is not itself unusual. Each year, Faroese whalers take part in a traditional Grindadráp pilot hunt; however, the scale and cruelty of this particular hunt is unprecedented. The brutal suffocation of the dolphins was the largest massacre in the island's history and caused a stain on the seafaring nation’s reputation.

Beyond the outright cruelty, these practices have dangerous side effects. On a planetary level, this selfishness threatens the ability of our diverse ocean ecosystems to support life. There’s only so much we can take before the ocean can no longer give. This greed also has consequences for humans. Years of health research have shown that mercury levels in dolphin and meat are consistently rising, which in turn can lead to diabetes, hypertension, Parkinsons, and childhood development issues.

There is no ethical, environmental, or physiological need for such wasteful, cruel practices. Let’s pressure Prime Minister Bárður á Steig Nielsen of the Faroe Islands to put a stop to his country’s cruel slaughter of dolphins. Add your voice to the cause.