蜜芽传媒

There's been widespread criticism of the hunting and killing of more than 1,400 dolphins in the Faroe Islands on Sunday.

The islands are an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, and the hunt is part of the traditional Faroese 'Grind', but even supporters of the practice have criticised the scale of the killing this year.

A long time serving board member of the Faroese Whalers Association, Hans Jakup Hermansen, told us the hunters had thought there were 200 - 300 dolphins in the pod and had chased around 300 animals out of the bay when they realised just how many there were.

He says mistakes were made and lessons would be learnt - but that the law doesn't need to be changed.

"If this were only for tradition we wouldn't do it. It goes for consumption and we use it. And luckily every individual was taken home and people have got a share and nothing was left to rot."

(Photo: Pilot whaling in Torshavn in 2013. Credit: Getty Images)