Faroe Islands locals massacre over 700 porpoises in gory ‘grindagrap’ tradition

Haunting images show the waters around the Faroe Islands stained blood red after locals slaughtered over 700 porpoises in a gory tradition known as the grindagrap, or “grind.”

The single-day massacre of pilot whales and various dolphin species — including 406 killed in Torshavn, the Faroese capital, alone — surpassed more than two-thirds of the 1,000 marine animals killed in the Faroe Islands in all of 2025, according to Sea Shepherd, a global environmental activist NGO.

The gruesome custom involves herding hundreds of Atlantic dolphins and pilot whales into shallow bays with hooks, forcing them toward the shoreline and killing them one by one.