Copenhagen's iconic Little Mermaid statue is doused in red paint by animal rights activists protesting against whale slaughter
- Statue, a tribute to Hans Christian Andersen, was coated in red paint on Monday
- Vandals wrote 'Denmark defend the whales of the Faroe islands' on a nearby path
- Hundreds of pilot whales are stabbed to death in an annual festival on the islands
- Mermaid has been painted before - also knocked off her perch and decapitated
A Little Mermaid statue has been coated in red paint by animal rights activists protesting brutal whale hunts in Denmark.
The 94-year-old monument, a tribute to Danish storyteller Hans Christian Andersen, was found covered in paint on Tuesday morning.
Vandals had then written 'Denmark defend the whales of the Faroe Islands' on a footpath nearby.
A 94-year-old Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen, a tribute to writer Hans Christian Andersen, has been covered in red paint by animal rights protesters
The activists wrote 'Denmark defend the whales of the Faroe Islands' on the pavement nearby (Danmark is the Danish spelling for the country)
Police say they have opened an investigation into the latest act of vandalism to target the mermaid. She has been painted once before, knocked off her rock, and decapitated
Every year around 800 pilot whales are herded into coves on the Faroe Islands before being stabbed to death during a hunt known as grindadrap - or 'the grind'.
Traditionally a bonfire was lit when a pod of whales was spotted near the islands in order to alert fishermen to ready their boats.
Today word spreads on social media before the vessels head out to drive the mammals into the shore.
Hunters armed with knives mounted on long poles then gather in a cove, where they kill the animals by severing their spinal chords and arteries.
The practice dates back at least 300 years. Locals say the whales are not under threat and the killings violate no laws.
Workers were quick to remove the paint, which appeared overnight on Monday. While the Faroe Islands are self-governing, they are still part of the Kingdom of Denmark
The mermaid statue was created by sculptor Edvard Eriksen and has sat at the entrance to Copenhagen harbour since 1913
Islanders say the killings, usually carried out with a knife mounted on a long pole, breach no laws because the pilot whales are not endangered
The Faroe Islands comprises 17 inhabited islands located around 260 miles north of John O'Groats, Scotland.
In the 1940s the population voted to succeed from Denmark, but after the government failed to agree a deal the proposal was dropped in favour of laws allowing greater home rule.
Today the islands are largely self-governing, though still technically part of the Kingdom of Denmark.
Pilot whales are highly sociable and intelligent creatures, and researchers believe they are capable of grief and may even possess their own culture.
The Faroese hunts rely on the whales' loyalty to work, as the mammals will attempt to defend each-other even while being hacked to death.
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