The Grindadráp (aka “The Grind”) is the hunting of long-finned pilot whales, and occasionally dolphins, carried out not by commercial industries but by local communities. Supporters describe it as tradition. Critics call it what it looks like: a coordinated killing of highly social marine animals (World Animal Protection 2025).

Tradition is one of the most powerful words in any debate about animal welfare. But being old does not make something right. Here is why that argument deserves more scrutiny than it usually gets.