whaling

Passengers of the Ambassador Cruise Line had just arrived in the Faroe Islands when a group of small boats drove the whales to shallow water for killing, part of a long-standing local tradition.

The U.S.-based environmental activist group says it will not send ships because Japan has improved technology to avoid the vessels and has toughened its anti-terrorism laws.

The fleet killed the minke whales over the past four months, drawing condemnation from environmentalists and the Australian government.