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National

Faroe Islands limits annual dolphin hunt to 500 after more than 1,400 killed in one day

The Faroe Islands is known for its scenery, but also for its controversial dolphin hunt. (Visit Faroe Islands)

Faroe Islands will limit its controversial dolphin hunt to 500 animals after last year's cull received widespread criticism for killing more than 1,400 dolphins.

WARNING: This story contains confronting images

In February, a review by the government of the independent Danish territory was ordered in response to the outcry.

Animal rights activists said the slaughter was cruel and unnecessary, with almost 1.3 million people signing a petition that called on the Faroese government to ban the hunt altogether.

However, Faroe Islanders support hunting dolphins, saying the ocean mammals have fed them for centuries.

A statement from the territory's Fisheries Ministry said the new annual catch limit would be provisional for 2022 and 2023. 

The carcasses of dead white-sided dolphins lay on a beach in the Faroe Islands in September last year. (AP: Sea Shepherd)

It said the proposal for the catch limit was put forward for public comment on July 8 and is expected to be implemented as an executive order by July 25. 

The measure came in response to criticism of the "unusually large catch" of 1,423 white-sided dolphins that took place on September 14 last year, the ministry said.

A hunt on the island of Eysturoy which is part of the Faeroe Islands saw 1,428 white-sided dolphins killed in a day. (AP: Sea Shepherd)

"It has been acknowledged that aspects of that catch were not satisfactory, in particular, the unusually large number of dolphins killed," the ministry said.

"This made procedures difficult to manage and is unlikely to be a sustainable level of catch on a long-term annual basis."

The ministry also said the Faroese people had the right and responsibility to sustainably use the resources of the sea, including dolphins and pilot whales.

Residents of Hvalvik in the Faroe Islands catching pilot whales to be slaughtered. (Reuters: Andrija Ilic/File)

According to the ministry, catches of small whales are an important supplement to the livelihoods of Faroe Islanders, who have, for centuries, relied on the use of marine resources for their economy and local food security.

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