Little Mermaid painted red by whale lobby

Copenhagen’s famous Little Mermaid statue was vandalised yet again this week – this time in protest at whaling in the Faroe Islands.

The bronze sculpture perched on a rock in the city’s harbour was daubed in red paint, while the words “DANMARK [sic] DEFEND THE WHALES OF THE FAROE ISLANDS” were graffitied on the promenade.

Tourists continued to flock to the statue inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale and commissioned in 1909 by Carl Jacobsen, son of the founder of Carlsberg, while Copenhagen police confirmed they were investigating.

Whaling in the Faroe Islands, a self-governing archipelago within the Kingdom of Denmark, is increasingly controversial as the islanders continue to partake in a gruesome hunt called “grindadrap”, in which fishermen surround pods of pilot whales with their vessels and drive them on to shores where hunters drive spikes into their blowholes. No group has claimed responsibility for the vandalism.

Carl Christian Ebbesen, head of Copenhagen Municipality’s culture and leisure committee, told local broadcaster DR that the act “offended” him.

“National treasures like this should be left well alone. Regardless of whether it’s vandalism or politically motivated, this is well out of line,” he said, before suggesting CCTV be installed to protect the Little Mermaid.

It is not the first time the city’s most popular resident has suffered at the hands of vandals. In 1964, the mermaid’s head was sawn off, while in 1984 her right arm was removed, but later returned. In 1998 the statue was decapitated again; in 2003 it was knocked off its rock by explosives; and in 2007 it was dressed in a burka and headscarf.