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Faroese pilot whaling:
No problem, say Greenpeace and WWF

21.05.1999;

"Pilot whaling is not an environmental issue," says Greenpeace Denmark press officer, Dan Hindsgaul, to the Danish newspaper 'Jyllandsposten', 18 May.

WWF-Denmark is of the same opinion: "The hunt is documented to be sustainable", says scientific advisor, Anne-Marie Mikkelsen. She adds that from an ecological standpoint, it is wrong to focus on pilot whales. The North Atlantic pilot whale population is estimated to be 780,000 animals.

The militant group Sea Shepherd, with Greenpeace founder Paul Watson as head, is asking German companies to boycott Danish products in protest against the Faroese hunt.

Dan Hindsgaul of Greenpeace says that Sea Shepherd is "an animal welfare organisation that tries to take the consumers as hostages." He further emphasises that Paul Watson was kicked out of Greenpeace because of his militant methods.

But there is not much reason for concern. "Danish companies do not have to spend sleepless nights," says Mikkelsen. Because of its policy, Sea Shepherd has painted itself into a corner, where it has no influence, she says. She adds that it is naive to believe that it is possible to influence the Faroese by threatening Danish companies and bombarding German consumers with lies.

Kate Sanderson at the Faroese Prime Minister's office calls Paul Watson a "terrorist", and says to Jyllandsposten that he has absolutely no influence on what the Faroese are doing.

Sanderson informs that apparently a German supermarket did not prolong a contract for salmon purchase from a Faroese producer because of threats from this group. She adds that for the time being, it is not possible to confirm this information.

During the years, there have been several attempts by animal rights and welfare organisations to force the Faroese to stop the pilot whale hunt by urging consumers, especially in Great Britain, to boycott Faroese fish products and to not travel to the islands. These campaigns have not been successful, as both the export of fish and the number of tourists have increased.