Iceland puts an end to whaling!

This summer, the whale hunt will not commence in Iceland. This has been announced by the Icelandic Minister Svandís Svavarsdóttir of Food, Agriculture & Fisheries. The hunt was supposed to open on 21 June, but the minister put a stop to this at the last minute. In all likelihood, she will no longer issue hunting licenses after this either because of the serious suffering that whales are inflicted during hunting.

Last October, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the initiative of the Dutch Party for the Animals in which it called on Iceland to stop the whale hunt for good. At that time, the Icelandic minister was still in doubt about continuing whaling.

That the minister decided on a ban this year after all is due to a critical report by the Icelandic animal welfare authority Mast. The report examined all 148 whales killed during the hunt last year. It showed that the animals had to suffer unnecessarily long before they died, which is not in line with the animal welfare law.

"Whales are crucial to the ecosystem and play a major role in the fight against climate change. There has been a worldwide ban on whaling since 1986, which is ignored by only a few countries. The fact that Iceland has stopped the hunt now is in the interest of people, animals, nature, and the environment. We continue to urge the only three remaining whaling countries in the world – Japan, Norway, and the Danish Faroe Islands – to cease their horrific activities as well," said MEP Anja Hazekamp.