Festival drops partner over 'barbaric' whale hunts

Lloyd Gofton, director of the Sussex Dolphin Project, said the hunts are "completely against the cultural heart of Brighton and the wider Sussex community"

A music festival in East Sussex has withdrawn its partnership with the Faroe Islands after it was criticised for working with a country which allows “barbaric” whaling.

The Great Escape, a festival based in Brighton, announced last week that it was teaming up with the Faroe Music Export (FME), a Faroese government office, to bring musicians from the country to next year’s festival.

But the Sussex Dolphin Project said it feared the Faroese government was using the partnership to distract people from its country's whaling practices, which the government denied.

The Great Escape has now ended its partnership with the Faroe Islands but said it will continue to support the country’s musicians.

Thousands of people visit Brighton each year to find new music talent at The Great Escape

During the hunts, which began about 1,200 years ago, boats herd whales and dolphins to the shallows where they are killed with knives, then pulled ashore and eaten by locals.

In 2023, 897 whales and 10 dolphins were killed, according to the Faroese government. In 2021, however, more than 1,400 dolphins were killed in a single day.

Lloyd Gofton, director of the Sussex Dolphin Project, said: “Medieval practices like [this] have no place in an ethical and progressive society. Tradition can no longer be an excuse for the barbaric massacre of animals."

Mr Gofton said his organisation had no issue with The Great Escape promoting Faroese musicians, but did object to the festival partnering with the country’s government.

The hunts are organised by the community and regulated by national legislation, according to the Faroese government

A spokesperson for The Great Escape said: “We are very grateful to the Sussex Dolphin Project for bringing this issue to our attention.

“The festival has now withdrawn its partnership with the Faroe Islands and remains dedicated to showcasing new music talent from around the world.”

The hunts are legal in the Faroe Islands and are regulated by the country's government.

The Faroese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Industry and Trade denied it was using Faroese music and international festivals as a distraction tactic to whaling.

A spokesperson for the ministry said it "regrets" the decision taken by The Great Escape to end the partnership, adding that the activities and mandate of the FME "have nothing to do with whaling or Faroese government policy on maritime resource management".