These hunts, known as grindadráp or "grinds," occurred just days after an extraordinary rescue operation in nearby Iceland, where volunteers and emergency teams successfully saved more than 60 pilot whales stranded on a northern beach. The contrast could not be more stark.

The first hunt on July 5 took place on the island of Suðuroy without public notice. By the time Sea Shepherd received word through local anti-whaling allies, the hunt was already over and 40 whales were dead, including an unknown number of juveniles and unborn calves.

Later that same day, a second grind was initiated in Bøur. Sea Shepherd crew were on the ground documenting as 51 pilot whales were driven ashore and killed, among them 6 juveniles and 4 pregnant females (we include the 4 unborn pilot whales in the final count). One whale was actively giving birth during the drive hunt—a moment of profound suffering documented by Sea Shepherd.

With these two hunts, the total number of grinds in the Faroe Islands in 2025 rises to four, with 395 pilot whales killed.

The timing is especially poignant following the June 21st mass stranding in Ólafsfjörður, Iceland. There, local residents and rescue workers entered freezing waters to save every single whale, demonstrating the possibility of a different relationship with these intelligent marine mammals.

Sea Shepherd continues to call on the Faroese government to end the grindadráp and on the silent majority of Faroese citizens who oppose these hunts to speak out publicly. Change will not come without pressure from within the community.

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