TWO West Dorset residents travelled to London to protest against the unnecessary slaughter of whales.

Annabel Gardner, of Poundbury, and Jennifer Johnson, of Netherbury, went to the Danish embassy to raise their objections to the annual Faroese tradition of slaughtering pilot whales.

Residents of the Faroe islands, which are located between Scotland and Iceland and in the Danish Protectorate have been slaughtering whales since the 16th century.

These hunts continue to take place in European waters, despite being in violation of the Berne Convention, to which Denmark is a signatory.

Ms Gardner said: "The majority of us held up pictures and homemade banners, whilst a couple of others addressed the horrors of the pilot whale slaughter through a megaphone."