27.11.2008
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, the annual drive hunt of Pilot Whales has disturbed the German citizens. We have lots of inquiries of citizens asking us what they can do to save the Pilot Whales that are being killed in such a cruel way. In the name of all these people we kindly ask the Government of the Faroese Islands do to something about this unnecessary slaughter - We kindly ask you to insure the prompt implementation of an official ban. Reasons are obvious: Standards of humane slaughter cannot be met during the hunt, high contamination levels are threatening the Faroese population (especially children) and the Faroese Islands' international image is being damaged constantly. Everybody accepts the traditions of different cultures - Including the Faroese traditions. But from time to time it can be better to change traditions for the own benefit. Eighty years ago we used to kill seals for fur and food in Germany. But as we found out that the populations are severely dropping and that this harms the whole marine ecosystem we found other ways to keep up our traditions. Today there still are the so called 'seal hunters' They are keeping up the tradition not by killing seals but by conserving and protecting them. By that they ensure a healthy marine system with lots of fish. The 'seal-hunters' also inform the public about the seals and their biology which generates massive profits in tourism. People come from all over Germany to see and enjoy the seals (from a 'nondisturbing' distance of course). We are sure that this would also work with Faroese Pilot Whales. As recent studies showed, the health aspect is not to be underrated. Whale meat is highly contaminated with organic pesticides such as PCBs. Nobody should be able to buy these harming products, especially no children and pregnant women. We kindly ask you to consider a prompt ban of the drive hunt on Pilot Whales. We are sure that your governmental researchers are well informed about all the biological facts such as contamination. So the most interesting point for the process of consideration could be the poor international image that is being created through the annual drive hunt.
Gesellschaft zum Schutz der Meeressäugetiere e.V. Kieler Straße 2, 22451 Quickborn / Tel: 04106 – 620 601 Fax: 04106 – 620 907 / Internet: www.gsm-ev.de E-Mail: info@gsm-ev.de
We thank you in advance for considering our email.
Yours sincerely,
Petra Deimer
Master of Science - Biology President - Society for the Conservation of Marine Mammals (Hamburg, Germany)
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Email send to: Prime Minister's Office - Faroese Government - info@tinganes.fo Faroe Islands Tourist Board - tourist@tourist.fo
CC: The Representation of the Faroes in Copenhagen - mfa@mfa.fo Herálvur Joensen, Minister Counsellor, Head of Mission - heralvurj@mfa.fo
Gesellschaft zum Schutz der Meeressäugetiere e.V. Kieler Straße 2, 22451 Quickborn / Tel: 04106 – 620 601 Fax: 04106 – 620 907 / Internet: www.gsm-ev.de E-Mail: info@gsm-ev.de