Peaceful bid to halt slaughter of whales

Earthrace Conservation said it will have a permanent presence on the group of islands, which are situated halfway between the Shetland Islands and Iceland. The environmentalists aim to talk to those involved in the annual Faroese grindadraps, which consists of boats herding pods of migrating pilot whales into shallow coves.

Members of the group have visited the Faroe Islands to meet locals and talk about their attitudes towards the traditional grinds. Earthrace Conservation Faroe Islands was set up as a result and will be headed by islander Turid Christophersen.

It is hoped Scottish-based volunteers will travel to the islands to help in the campaign. Ms Christophersen, 31, said: "I saw a need for people to be able to speak out about local marine life from whales and puffins, which are in serious decline, to the pollution of sea birds and over-fishing.

"Having met the team from Earthrace Conservation and appreciated their approach while on the islands, I decided I could achieve that through joining them."

Earthrace spokeswoman Beverley Bailey said the group believed it was "doing it the right way" by avoiding the "aggressive" approach of other anti-whaling groups. She said: "It's about awareness and education and giving a voice to those who have never been asked.

"Hopefully, then they will open up to us and we can discuss their perceptions of the grinds."

The group will also introduce educational campaigns on wider global marine issues and care of the environment as well as organising beach clean-ups.

Ms Bailey added: "With Turid at the helm, we are confident that we will get a growing number of supporters who like what we do and how we do it, and that we will achieve what we set out to do on the Faroe Islands - create a growing level of awareness and positive actions surrounding all the issues that concern Earthrace about the state of our oceans today."