The hunting of pilot whales is currently not regulated by the International Whaling Commission. Furthermore, while Denmark is a member of both the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (Bern Convention), the Faroe Islands are excluded from their scope of application.

The Convention on Migratory Species (CMS or Bonn Convention) lists long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas) in its Appendix II, i.e. migratory species which have an unfavourable conservation status and which require international agreements for their conservation and management. Under the CMS auspices, 10 EU Member States, including Denmark, have concluded the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas (Ascobans). However, it should be noted that the area covered by this agreement does not extend to the Faroe Islands.

The Commission has however already expressed concerns about the annual hunt of long-finned pilot whales in the Faroe Islands and will continue to use all possible opportunities to raise this issue with the relevant authorities.