One day, I would love to sail to the Faroe Islands. The Faroes are an archipelago of eighteen strikingly beautiful islands between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Norway and Iceland, and 200 miles north-northwest of mainland Scotland. Given how remote the islands are, it may not be surprising that Google has not yet sent their 360 degree cameras to map the islands for Google Street View on Google Maps. The Faroese, however, are a creative lot.
The islands are an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark with a population of around 50,000 people and around 80,000 sheep. Indeed, the Danish name, Færøerne, translates as “the islands of sheep”. What does this have to do with Google Street View?
If the Faroese did not get Street View, they could set up their own mapping with SheepView 360. As reported by the Guardian, with the help of a local shepherd and a specially built harness built by a fellow islander, Durita Dahl Andreassen of Visit Faroe Islands has fitted five of the island’s sheep with a 360-degree camera.
As the sheep walk and graze around the island, the pictures are sent back to Andreassen with GPS co-ordinates, which she then uploads to Google Street View.
“Here in the Faroe Islands we have to do things our way,” says Andreassen. “Knowing that we are so small and Google is so big, we felt this was the thing to do.”
So far the Sheep View team have taken panoramic images of five locations on the island. They have also produced 360 video so you can explore the island as if you are, quite literally, a sheep.
And now for something completely different . . . Love it! The Faroes are also on my list.
Will the sheep be inadvertently filming the grindadráp, the yearly bloody dolphin massacre that the Faroese don’t want outsiders to see?
No Erik, you missed it, and it’s not dolphins.
July 6, 2016
Blood Spills on to the Shores of the Danish Faroe Islands in the First Pilot Whale Slaughter of the Year
Today, at approximately 1200 local time, a pod of 30-50 pilot whales was slaughtered in the first grindadráp (grind) of the year, on the island of Viðoy in the Danish Faroe Islands archipelago.
The ordeal began this morning when locals spotted a pod of between 100-150 pilot whales passing by Svínoy. Several boats then drove the pod of whales approximately 11 kilometres to Hvannasund, where the whales were forced to beach, and slaughtered by locals. Faroese media outlets have confirmed between 30-50 pilot whales have been killed.
http://www.seashepherd.org/news-and-media/2016/07/06/blood-spills-on-to-the-shores-of-the-danish-faroe-islands-in-the-first-pilot-whale-slaughter-of-the–1825
And on top of that:
Cruise Lines Continue to Support Mass Murder of Whales in Faroe Islands
Posted on July 7, 2016 by Jim Walker
Yesterday, residents in the Faroe Islands brutally slaughtered a pod of 30-50 pilot whales in the Danish island’s annual gruesome, grindadráp (grind).
The Sea Shepherd organization, which is barred by Denmark from the Faroe Islands, wrote yesterday “the ordeal began this morning when locals spotted a pod of between 100-150 pilot whales passing by Svínoy. Several boats then drove the pod of whales approximately 11 kilometers to Hvannasund, where the whales were forced to beach, and slaughtered by locals. Faroese media outlets have confirmed between 30-50 pilot whales have been killed.”
http://www.cruiselawnews.com/2016/07/articles/cruelty-murder-of-animals/cruise-lines-continue-to-support-mass-murder-of-whales-in-faroe-islands/