A petition has been launched calling for a Bristol music venue to boycott a band that has been linked to whale killing.
Týr is scheduled to play Bristol’s Thekla on March 8 promoted by Born Again Concerts, alongside three other UK shows in Manchester, London and Yarmouth.
The folk metal band from the Faroe Islands has faced backlash due to the nation’s cultural practices of whaling, of which the lead singer Heri Joensen has been openly involved with.
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Whaling in the Faroe Islands is a type of drive hunting that involves herding whales and dolphins to be beached, killed and butchered, with pilot whale meat forming a traditional diet for the community.
The petition, launched by Isaiah Laitinen and addressed to Thekla and the three other UK venues, criticised the "cruel, outdated, unnecessary slaughter" of the animals and criticised the lead singer for "glorifying" it.
It continued: “Not only that, but Joensen has actively participated in numerous slaughters and served as the de-facto ambassador of the Faroe Islands to justify this barbarism.
"As the UK is one of the most purportedly whale-and-dolphin-friendly nations on the planet, we the undersigned demand that the aforementioned other venues Tyr is scheduled to play at cancel the band's planned performances and deprive them of the opportunity to promote their animal cruelty around the nation.”
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Both Thekla and Born Again Concerts have been approached for comment.
So far the petition has gained almost 300 signatures and is currently aiming for a total of 500 at the time of writing.
This is not the first time there have been calls to cancel Týr’s shows, with many other attempts to cancel their performances around the world, and some successful.
Speaking to Bristol Live, the lead singer Heri Joensen defended the whaling practices in the Faroe Islands: “I am in favour of every kind of animal welfare. Animals should be treated with dignity and respect to any degree that is possible.
“No species of animal should be hunted to extinction under any circumstances.
“We have a national veterinarian team in the Faroes that revise and develop the methods for killing pilot whales as we learn more about the whales and the killing method.”
The Faroese singer said ethical questions surrounding the killing of animals for meat should be “addressed to the highest degree possible in modern society” as they are in the Faroe Islands.
“Animals are killed in the UK as well every year in the hundreds of thousands,” he said.
He added: “The text in the petition is wildly misleading. It’s written in a way to paint me in the worst possible light with unfactual and counter-reality claims.”
The controversy first began after the lead singer was pictured on social media alongside a slaughtered long-finned pilot whale in Hvannasund in the Faroe Islands.
Týr saw five performances cancelled in Germany and the Netherlands in 2016 as a result of people writing to venues the band was scheduled to perform at.
In 2018, the singer was met by anti-whaling protesters outside a show in Portland, Oregon in the United States.
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Heri Joensen said he did not know himself of any plans to cancel the Bristol show as of yet.
“The tour will happen sooner or later somehow,” he said. “There have been talks about postponing it for other reasons.
“Of course, it would take time to find another venue for the Bristol show. This will be overcome one way or the other.”
Týr last played Bristol at the now-closed Bierkeller Theatre back in 2016 according to the band’s website.
According to the nation’s government website Whaling.Fo, the pilot whale population in the eastern North Atlantic equates to 380,000 animals, with 100,000 in the area around the Faroe Islands.
They claim the average catch of pilot whales in the Faroe Islands over the past 20 years has been around 600 whales a year.
The driving, beaching, killing and distribution of pilot whales are fully regulated in accordance with Faroese law and catches are shared among the participants and local community.
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