A Taste of Whale

Is the pilot whale hunt at the Faroe Islands a sustainable tradition or a barbaric practice? A thoughtful and respectful look at all sides of the discussion, likely to shift the viewer’s position several times. With both stunning images of the islands and graphic footage of the whale hunt.

The Faroe Islands form a tight-knit community of 50.000 people who are proud of their traditions. A central one of these is ‘the Grind’: the hunting of pilot whales for local consumption. They’re also a community that doesn’t like to be told what to do. When outsiders criticise the Grind, they are politely asked to mind their own business. Besides, are the industrialized slaughterhouses of the meat industry any more civilized or eco-friendly?

This doesn’t stop Lamya Essemlali and the volunteers of Sea Shepherd. They head to the islands to save the whales – if necessary by throwing themselves between the whale and the harpooner. What seems like a bitter confrontation turns out to be not so black and white. Meanwhile, there’s a more urgent threat to the Faroese tradition: marine pollution has made whale meat highly toxic.