Dolphin hunting is restricted in the Faroe Islands

The Faroe Islands will limit the number of dolphins that can be slaughtered, after the traditional hunting has been heavily criticised. Now no more than 500 white-sided dolphins are allowed to be killed per year.

“An annual catch limit of 500 white-sided dolphins has now been proposed by the Ministry of Fisheries on a provisional basis for 2022 and 2023,” the self-governing government announced on Sunday.

The quota was set after what was described as the “unusually large catch” of the dolphin variety white-sided birds last year, when over 1,400 were killed.

When images from the hunt spread, it aroused disgust and protests.

After a petition with nearly 1.3 million signatures calling for the traditional hunting to be banned was handed over to the Faroese government, a review of the hunt began in February.

The hunt for whales, in particular pilot whales, at the end of summer is a tradition that dates back many centuries.

The tradition is called grindadráp, and involves the hunters surrounding the whales and leading them towards a bay where they are stranded and then killed.

The way in which the hunt is carried out is being evaluated, so that it is “carried out as quickly and efficiently as possible”.

The Faroe Islands are largely self-governing but are formally part of the Danish Kingdom.