Date:
To:
Mr. Kaj Leo Holm Johannesen
Prime Minister
Office of the Faroese Government
Tinganes, Post box 64
Torshavn, FR 110
Faroe Islands
CC:
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark
PER STIG MØLLER
2, Asiatisk Plads
DK-1448 Copenhagen K
Denmark
Tel +45 33 92 00 00
Fax +45 32 54 05 33
Dear Prime Minister,
Subject: Protesting ritualistic killing of whales and dolphins in the Faroe Islands
We are appalled to learn about an annual event in your country in which hundreds of whales and dolphins are killed every year in the shallow waters of Faroe Islands. It is called Moz and it seems to have become a rite of passage for young boys, a way to ease their entry into manhood. But it is wrong, very wrong. Young minds learn the most dreadfully wrong lessons when they view cold-blooded murder of innocent lives, even when sanitized as fun and sport. Rare species of the already stressed bio-diversity are threatened with extinction. Entire families of whales and dolphins are rounded up at sea by small motor boats and driven to the shore. Once they beach, blunt-ended metal hooks inserted into their blowholes are used to drag the whales up the beach, where they are killed with a knife cut to their major blood vessels. They don’t die instantly; they are cut 1, 2 or 3 times with thick hocks. In agonies of death, they wail, sounding eerily like the cry of a newborn child.
The dolphins killed are Calderon, a species so friendly that they
approach people out of curiosity. The World Dolphin Conservation
Society, who we consulted, believes that the act, which takes place
within view of their pod members, is cruel and barbaric. The
Society assured us that the matter has been highlighted in their
communications to you too. Sadly, this awful killing is still going on.
The Calderon dolphins are near extinction.
We in the Voice for Justice, with representations in many countries
around the globe, are known for our protests against any form of
injustice in any society by any individuals or groups, irrespective of
their economic clout and military might.
Our information shows that the Faroe Islands were part of the kingdom of
Denmark from 1388 A.D. The Faroe Islands have been an autonomous
province of Denmark since 1948 and are thus a part of the Kingdom of
Denmark. The Faroe Islands depend for finance and law on Denmark. Thus
both Faroe Islands and the Kingdom are ethically and morally responsible
for the act. It is an irony that the Danish Government and its people
are now hosting the Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change. We cannot
understand how a country and its people can show commitment to climate
change when they directly and indirectly encourage an assault on the
earth’s bio-diversity. How can the Danish government be serious about
mitigating the effects of greenhouse gas emissions when such brutal acts
against nature occur within their own shores?
VFJ will protest any act of injustice that affects our society,
environment and governance. We appeal to you to create pressure on the
Government/People of the Island and frame laws to save these beautiful
sea animals. The records of the Danes show that they have a firm
commitment to decency, human rights and dignity. We want to see these
values applied to all living beings.
We ask the governments of your two countries to stop the killing of
dolphins in Faroe Islands and make sure that there is proper enforcement
of the ban, leading the way to a new dolphin conservation policy. We
want to see these dolphins given a special protected status to ensure
their survival. We hope that your future generations will not get an
opportunity to question the collective wisdom of your generations as
they visit museums to see skeletons of the beautiful mammals that were
in abundance in the sea around your countries.
Yours truly,
...................................
On behalf of
Voice For Justice,
........ Chapter.
Address: ..........................................................