| NGOs protest Iceland's whaling | Back |
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| | In spite of international regulation and condemnation, Iceland resumed commercial whaling in 2006. The previous Icelandic government set quotas allowing the slaughter of 150 endangered fin whales, and 100 minke whales, each year for the next 5 years. Following the election of a new government in April 2009, hopes were high that this decision would be reversed. These hopes were crushed when the new government increased the quotas to 200 fin and 200 minke whales for the 2009 season, leaving anti-whaling nations and NGOs stunned.
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| Fin whales, the second largest creatures on our planet, are listed as Endangered by the World Conservation Union, because the global population has fallen by more than 70% over the last 3 generations (about 80 years). The International Whaling Commission (IWC) banned the taking of fin whales in 1976, and declared a moratorium on all commercial whaling in 1986. Iceland is a member of the IWC, but lodged objections to the IWC moratorium, and continues whaling. | |
| Iceland is one of only a handful of countries that hunts whales commercially. The market for the products of these brutal hunts within Iceland is negligible, so virtually all the landed whale meat, oil and blubber is exported, principally to Japan. Iceland's whaling is done entirely for commercial purposes. | |
| Both fin and minke whales are listed in Appendix 1 by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). This means that the trade in fin and minke whale products is illegal under international law, yet Iceland continues to trade under objections lodged by them to CITES. | |
| Iceland, which has been a member of the European Economic Area and Free Trade Associations for some years, has recently applied for full EU membership. All cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) are protected in the EU as "Species of Community Interest" under the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC). In addition, the EU has no provision for member states to "opt out" of CITES regulations concerning listed species. | |
| Iceland's desire to join the EU gives Europe a golden opportunity to make complience with the Habitats Directive and CITES regulations a condition of Iceland's membership. By taking this bold step, the EU can help to stop whaling in one of the few remaining countries that still insist on slaughtering these majestic creatures, and send a clear message that the Union is committed to conserving the oceans' whales and dolphins. | |
| In order to try and persuade the EU not to give in to any demands Iceland may make for exemptions to EU rules, Care for the Wild International joined 35 other conservation and animal welfare organisations in signing a letter to EU and IWC commissioners. You can download the letter here. | |
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