Cruise company apologises afer passengers witness brutal whale slaughter

A cruise company has apologised to distressed passengers after they were forced to witness the brutal slaughter of whales on a hunt. WARNING: Graphic

Traumatised cruise passengers had to watch on as a brutal whale hunt happened during their tour. Pictures: The Captain Paul Watson Foundation

WARNING: Graphic images

A whale hunt near the Faroe Islands, west of Norway, left passengers on a luxury cruise in distress as they watched dozens of the creatures die.

Ambassador Cruise Line apologised to customers following the July 9 hunt, when locals killed 78 pilot whales – members of the dolphin family. The company issued a statement via Twitter in which it condemned the hunt and apologised to all the passengers aboard the ship at the time.

“We strongly object to this outdated practice, and have been working with our partner, ORCA, a charity dedicated to studying and protecting whales, dolphins and purposes in UK and European waters, to encourage change since 2021,” Ambassador wrote, stressing its commitment to sustainability as a “core” value.

The Faroe Islands hunt on July 12, 2023. Picture: Captain Paul Watson Foundation

“We fully appreciate that witnessing this local event would have been distressing for the majority of guests on-board,” the company added. “Accordingly, we would like to sincerely apologise to them for any undue upset.”

Ambassador chief executive Christian Verhounig reiterated the company’s commitment to protecting whales and dolphins, and he highlighted efforts to “educate our guests and crew not to buy or eat any whale or dolphin meat” to avoid contributing to the continued commercial whaling industry around the world.

Distressed cruise passengers were subjected to the brutal, bloodied scenes. Picture: Captain Paul Watson Foundation

The hunt, known as grindadráp, also called the “grind,” which translates to “whale slaughter,” happens regularly and throughout the year, according to Newsweek. Locals will herd the whale pods to certain locations with shallow water, where hunters wait to kill them using knives and hooks.

A 2021 review of the hunt found that residents had killed 1423 dolphins in just one hunt, and the Faroese government responded by placing a limit of 500 on that specific breed while not capping the overall number killed.

The hunt happens regularly throughout the year. Picture: Captain Paul Watson Foundation

An official at the time told the BBC the incredible number was a “big mistake” that did not line up with the initial estimate of “only 200 dolphins” in the pod.

Blue Planet Society, which has tracked the hunt and the total killings, said the July 9 hunt brings the total this year to 650, and they called on the European Union and UK to “take a stand against this unacceptable torture”.

The government on the Faroe Islands — a self-governing territory that’s part of the Kingdom of Denmark — insists on its website that the practice “is deemed sustainable”, requiring all hunters to carry a license and only hunt in designated areas.

The cruise company apologised to passengers distressed by the scenes. Picture: Captain Paul Watson Foundation

It notes that the total population in the region is around 778,000 and that only about 100,000 come near the Faroe Islands each year, of which they claim to kill only the smallest portion.

“Whaling in the Faroe Islands has been regulated for centuries,” the government wrote. “The law explicitly states that the hunt is to be conducted in such a way as to cause as little suffering to the whales as possible.”

The government stressed that the killing is not commercial, and anything caught is distributed for free to the local community where the hunt happens as part of a “traditional community-based sharing,” with whale meat and blubber “occasionally” available for sale in some supermarkets on the dockside.

This article originally appeared on Fox News and was reproduced with permission