Dolphins

Subject – Environment

Context – Slaughter of more than 1,400 dolphins in the Faroe Islands sparks condemnation worldwide

Concept –

Hunters in the Faroe Islands riding speed boats and jet skis ambushed and slaughtered a super-pod of more than 1,400 white-sided dolphins on Sunday (Sept. 12), leading to outcry from conservationists and even some supporters of the archipelago’s centuries-old tradition of killing the marine animals for food.
Dolphin hunting is an ancient tradition in the Faroe Islands — an autonomous territory of Denmark located between Norway, Scotland and Iceland — that dates back to Viking times. Known as a Grindadráp, or just “the grind,” the controversial custom involves driving pilot whales or other large dolphin species into the islands’ fjords in order to kill them with a specialized lance. It is the only Indigenous whaling practice still undertaken in Western Europe.
Currently, dolphin hunting in the Faroe Islands is legal, though it does require a license and permission from local authorities.

About Dolphins –

The Ganges River Dolphin or also called ‘Susu,’ is the National Aquatic Animal of India. It is one of the National Symbols of India. Gangetic Dolphins are found in the river systems of Ganga, Brahmaputra, Meghna, and Karnaphuli- Sangu in Nepal, India, and Bangladesh.

To know about Indus and Ganges River Dolphin, please click here.

To know about Irrawaddy dolphin, please click here.

To know about Project Dolphin, please click here.

To know about National Dolphin Research Centre (NDRC), please click here.