According to a new survey conducted by spyr.fo for Kringvarp Føroya, 47% of respondents said they do not approve of dolphin killing, while 35% of respondents said they approve of it. The remaining 18% were unsure.
The survey, which curiously makes a distinction between “whaling” and “dolphin killing”, also reveals that 85% of Faroese respondents say they approve of “whaling” (i.e. the killing of long-finned pilot whales, “grindadráp” in Faroese), while 9% say they are against it.
40% of those who said they oppose dolphin hunting argued that it is damages the nation brand, while many argued that dolphin hunting is unnecessary.
400 people participated in the survey.
This survey comes after Tuesday’s slaughter of 210 white-sided dolphins, which took place in the village of Hvalvík.
The slaughter has been much criticized by international news outlets as well as several Faroese politicians – including former PM Kaj Leo Holm Johannesen and Bjørt Samuelsen, who represents the Republic (Tjóðveldi) in the Faroese parliament. Sjúrður Skaale, who represents the Faroese Social Democrats in the Danish parliament, has also criticized the dolphin slaughter.
An online poll conducted by VP.fo in the wake of the slaughter revealed that 60% oppose the hunt of white-sided dolphins, while 37% support it.
2716 people participated in that particular online poll.
