TUESDAY July 29, 2014 Vol. 29• No. 60 ••• $1.25 inc. G.S.T.
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Merville activist fighting Faroe Islands whale hunt Scott Stanfield Record Staff
Merville resident Tarah Millen is halfway through a threemonth stint in the Faroe Islands where she has been leading a Sea Shepherd Conservation Society campaign to expose a ritualistic slaughter of pilot whales and dolphins. The slaughter occurs mainly during summer months in communal drive hunts that locals call grindadráp — otherwise known as the grind. The society calls it mass slaughter. “We’ve been able to effectively stop the killing since June 1st,” said Millen, 24, who returns to the Faroes next month for another six-week tour of duty. “They don’t want that kind of PR while we’re there. They don’t want the world to see them as barbarians.” There are four Sea Shepherd teams stationed in the Danish-
TARAH MILLEN (third from left) and her Sea Shepherd mates, at work. owned islands, located in the North Atlantic between Iceland and Norway. Millen is leading a campaign in the capital city of Tórshavn. “In the Faroe Islands, it’s illegal to kill a whale, except for the grind,” she said. “At one point it
was necessary for survival. They needed to eat whale, but that was some time ago and it’s not necessary anymore. It’s absolutely brutal. It’s holding onto an old tradition that needs to be put in the past.” Doctors advise women and
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children not to eat pilot whale because it is high in mercury, she added. The Operation GrindStop campaign has generated 600 applications from volunteers in 20-plus countries. Sea Shepherd volunteers are used on land and at sea
from June to September. They monitor grind bays, deter dolphins from shore and, if necessary, intervene against a grind. Though no one has been hurt since Sea Shepherd founder Captain Paul Watson led the first campaign in 1985, volunteers put themselves in harm’s way if they need to position themselves between whale killers and whales. “A lot of it is pride,” said Millen, noting locals don’t appreciate Sea Shepherd telling them what to do. At the same time, the younger generation is speaking out against the grind. “They recognize that there are so many other food sources in the Faroe Islands that you don’t need to rely on pilot whale. It’s frowned upon to speak out against the grind, unfortunately. Locals who do speak out are often ostracized, they’re shunned and they have to move.”
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SAR deployment comes up empty
PHOTO BY ERIN HALUSCHAK
Resumed search for missing hiker Apps produced no new leads
TEACHERS AT THE North Island Distance Education School (NIDES) took to the picket line Monday. The year-round school was the only one in School District 71 which was still operating during the summer while teachers are on strike, but that changed July 28. About a dozen teachers work out of the school.
Erin Haluschak Record Staff
Spending around 12 hours in the field Saturday, Comox Valley Ground Search and Rescue along with RCMP conducted specific area searches for missing hiker Sylvia Apps, but did not find any further clues. Last week, the search for Apps, 69, was officially stood down following a decision between her family and CVGSAR.
Late last week, the decision to continue the search was made, although the team was not acting on new information. The case remains open as a missing person with the RCMP, noted Paul Berry, information officer/SAR manager for the organization. Apps, an experienced hiker who was last seen July 11 south on Castlecrag Mountain, began her multi-day trek July 8 at 11 a.m. from Paradise Meadows on Mount Washington. According to Comox Valley RCMP, she was equipped with navigation and safety equipment and has previously made long treks.
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