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Whaling is cruel, outdated and must be stopped.

stop killing the whales

The International Whaling Commission (IWC) banned commercial whaling over 30 years ago, yet several countries continue the cruel practice today – despite concerns around the suffering whales endure from harpoon strikes.

ICELAND
Iceland’s largest whaling company, Hvalur hf. began whaling again in June 2022 after a two-year hiatus. Their license to hunt whales expires in 2023. By late July 2022, the company had already killed over 30 fin whales, and by the end of the whaling season, 3 months later, the company had slaughtered a total of 148 fin whales. A 2023 report released by the Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority (MAST) revealed just how much suffering these whales endure during the hunting process. Last year two of the whales took more than an hour to die, shot with explosive harpoons, the suffering is unthinkable. 36 whales had to be shot more than once. Five whales were shot three times, and four whales had to be shot four times. One whale was shot and then chased for five hours without being caught yet Fisheries and Agriculture Minister Svandís Svavarsdóttir said it’s impossible to stop the planned whaling this summer. Demand is low: less than 2% of the Icelandic population eats whale meat (it’s more popular with tourists, misguidedly thinking they’re trying a traditional delicacy). Iceland’s catch is also exported to Japan, where there’s a greater appetite for whale meat.

JAPAN
In 2019, Japan withdrew from the IWC to resume commercial whale hunts within its territorial waters, although the country retains observer status at the IWC, a signal that it has not completely shut the door to international talks on the issue. Prior to withdrawing, Japanese research hunts in the Antarctic and the Northwest Pacific were said to be a cover for commercial hunts, as most of the whale meat ended up in restaurants and supermarkets, or in the case of Norway, even in pet foods. Japan’s whaling quota for the 2022 whaling season was 349 whales – 137 minke, 187 Bryde’s, and 25 sei whales.  The 2023 quota is set at a total of 379 whales across the same 3 species.  From 2024 Japan plans to expand its list of legally catchable whales to include larger whale species and is presently conducting research to support this aim.

NORWAY
In Norway, there is little interest in whale meat today, and demand for the product has declined, yet the practice continues – with almost 15,000 minke whales killed by Norway since 1993.  Recent years in numbers…

– 2019: 429 killed
– 2020: 503 killed
– 2021: 575 killed
– 2022: 580 killed

Despite falling demand, sadly the number of killings continue to increase year on year.

A dying industry

In both Japan and Norway, the whaling industry is subsidised by their respective governments – so why continue with an industry which is unprofitable, with demand firmly in decline?  We hope their harpoons will soon be hung up for good.