Officials in Copenhagen, Denmark woke up Tuesday morning, May 25 and had to hose down the beloved Little Mermaid statue that was doused in red paint by whaling protestors.
Accompanying the vandalized statue was a message in English, "Danmark Defend The Whales of The Faroe Islands." The Associated Press reports this message and vandalism are likely referencing the summer hunting of pilot whales in the North Atlantic.
A.P. notes that whalers on the Faeroe Islands are allowed to drive herds of the whales into shallow waters where they are stabbed to death. Blubber from the pilot whales, not an endangered species, are shared in a non-commercial slaughter which is a tradition the dates back into the 16th century.
As for the Little Mermaid, the statue was done by Danish sculptor Edvard Eriksen which is a tribute to beloved Danish storyteller Hans Christian Andersen. The statue has greeted people from Copenhagen's harbor since 1913, according to A.P.
The Little Mermaid was first published in 1837 and tells the story of a young mermaid willing to give her life up to gain a human soul.