Updated May 29, 2024 at 6:30 p.m.*
As heat settles in, so does the height of grindadráp. Between Iceland and Norway, the Faroe Islands practice whaling in drive hunts known as the grindadráp, or “grind." For years, activists have called for an end to this practice, which has been called a “cruel and outdated tradition."
The Faroese government has said that this form of traditional hunting still makes "economic and environmental good sense". They defend its sustainability — maintaining they hunt only the abundant pilot whale — while activists call it an uncontrolled, irresponsible practice that violates animal welfare standards. Since the grindadráp resumed in May, more than 500 dolphins have been killed.
Animal rights activists have called for the Faroes to be excluded from the International Island Games to put pressure on the Faroese government and bring attention to their cause. They have also set up a petition to end the grind. In June, the parliament of fellow island nation Jersey voted to condemn the practice.
Iceland has of last summer suspended whaling over animal welfare concerns, arguing the methods employed are no longer acceptable. Experts believed that this would end Iceland’s controversial fin hunting altogether.
This tension between compassion for animals and respect for tradition is present all over the world. Debates around ritual slaughter question how to reconcile humane slaughter with deep religious practices around meat preparation.
In the EU, it is a particular sore point between animal rights activists and religious leaders. In some religions, for meat to be considered edible, it has to be killed ritualistically. To make meat Halal or Kosher, a restrained animal is killed with a single knife cut so that it bleeds to death.
The EU’s Court of Justice confirmed in 2020 that member states can ban ritual slaughter. To promote animal welfare, some countries forbid the killing of animals without prior non-lethal stunning. The European Muslim community remained mostly unaffected, as Halal practice allows for stunning the animal first. However, some Jewish representatives have condemned the EU law as, for Orthodox Jews, Kosher slaughter doesn't allow stunning.
Killing endangered animals
Meanwhile, in traditional medicine, some endangered animals are used and killed for human consumption, which can hasten the decline of many of those species. Hunters go after endangered animals like rhino, banteng and water buffalo for their prized horns, alligator and the endangered Grevy’s zebra for their meat, and use most parts of pangolins, elephants and tigers. These animals are all believed to have healing properties, many of which have been scientifically disproved.
However, one product used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been proved to have some medicinal properties. Bear bile has been used in TCM for centuries, but modern production often leads to the mistreatment of bears in captivity. Endangered Sun bears and Asian black bears are captured or captive-bred so that bile can be extracted from their gallbladders. They tend to be kept in too-small cages and are often fitted with a permanent catheter to drain the fluid, causing pain and long-term health issues.
35% of traditional medicine users rely on products that contain animal parts.
The bile contains an acid that has anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties, and can help to protect the liver. Cruelty-free alternatives to bear bile exist, as the main ingredient, ursodeoxycholic acid, can be chemically synthesized, meaning that banning the practice would have no medical consequences for humans. In fact, Vietnam outlawed bear bile farming in 2005, but the extraction and demand for the ingredient still continues across the region.
There is some movement among TCM practitioners to switch to plant-based alternatives. A survey by World Animal Protection found that 35% of traditional medicine users used traditional medicine that contained animal parts, but that many were willing to use cruelty-free substitutes. In China, more than 50% are open to plant-based alternatives, which are also often cheaper.
Blood sports
Another point of contention are blood sports which involve the hunting, wounding or killing of animals for entertainment, maintained as a cultural tradition.
In France, Iberia and Latin America, there is fierce debate around bullfighting. Brought over by Europeans 500 years ago, bullfights continue in Latin America, but this perceived cultural heritage is being put into question over animal welfare concerns.
It remains legal throughout the majority of Spain as an "indisputable" part of Spain's cultural heritage.
Defenders of the sport say that abolishing bullfighting is an attack on the culture, entertainment and livelihoods of those who participate. Meanwhile, Viviana Morales Naranjo, a professor at the Universidad de Las Américas in Ecuador, writes that “Bullfighting represents a manifestation of Spanish ideological colonization since it caused the collective consciousness to normalize a practice based on cruelty towards the sentient beings.” She argues that bullfighting is unethical, as bulls are sentient beings that have a right to be treated fairly and without pain.
Yet in Europe it is still protected under national heritage laws. In France, bullfighting is allowed where there is an "unbroken local tradition," and it remains legal throughout the majority of Spain as an "indisputable" part of Spain's cultural heritage.
In other countries, the sport is only partially banned. Regional bans exist in Mexico, its capital home to the world's biggest bullring with a capacity of 48,000. In 2022, Mexico City officially banned the blood sport, stopping shows – in which an animal was injured, tortured and finally killed – for good.
In 2011, Ecuador banned lethal bullfighting as a part of a referendum that also outlawed cockfighting and casino gambling. In neighboring Colombia, the country's congress on May 29 officially approved a ban on bullfighting. The country’s lower house gave the bill the green light with a 93-2 vote, sending the bill to President Gustavo Petro for final approval. The ban will apply from 2027 on, after a three-year transition period to help families depending on it to find new sources of income. This will leave only seven nations in the world where bullfighting is still allowed: Ecuador, France, Portugal, Mexico, Spain and Venezuela.
*Originally published Aug. 7, 2023, this article was updated May 29, 2024 with updated information about Colombia's decision to ban bullfighting, and with enriched media.