Party for the Animals puts Norwegian whaling on EU’s agenda

At the request of the Party for the Animals, Norwegian whaling will be discussed in the European Parliament in the following month. Despite a global whaling ban, Norway started its annual whale hunt again last April. The country even increased its hunting quota of 2016, planning to kill 999 animals this season.

The Party for the Animals wants the EU to do everything in its power to stop whaling in Norway. MEP Anja Hazekamp demands that the European Commission investigate whether EU ports can be closed to whale products. “Whale meat is illegal in the European Union. We must not tolerate dead whales to be transported to Japan through European ports like the ones in Rotterdam and Hamburg. By rejecting whale products, the EU hampers trade in such products and thereby discourages whaling,” says Hazekamp.

In collaboration with Sea Shepherd, the Party for the Animals has also requested that the European Commission initiate an infringement procedure against Denmark for its annual slaughter of pilot whales. In the Netherlands, a motion of the Party for the Animals was recently adopted in parliament, calling on the Dutch government to urge the European Commission to halt transit of whale meat through European ports.