WDC and and partner organisation Hard To Port had alerted Icelandic officials to violations of animal welfare laws in the fin whale hunt, providing evidence that harpoon explosive charges often failed to detonate, subjecting the whales to “an agonising ordeal”. Hunting is also not possible without following the whales for some time before shooting, which causes stress and fear, and killing them is not possible in a quick and painless manner.” “The chances of surviving for motherless whale calves are negligible. “Aside from the issues with the killing methods, the MAST report’s expert panel also concluded that it is not possible to determine the sex of a whale from the ship or whether they are about to kill a pregnant female or a lactating mother with a calf,” commented UK charity Whale & Dolphin Conservation (WDC). Most of these tended to be aged 60 and above, suggesting that enthusiasm for the practice was dying out with older generations. Her ministry will now examine any proposals for possible improvements in hunting methods as well as the legal conditions for imposing further restrictions on hunting based on the Animal Welfare Act and the Whaling Act, and seek feedback.Īccording to a recent independent survey, only 29% of Icelanders still favoured whale hunts. “If the government and licence-holders cannot guarantee welfare requirements, this activity does not have a future.”
“The conditions of the law on animal welfare are inescapable in my mind,” said Svavarsdóttir in her rapid response to the report. It found that 41% of whales targeted had not been killed outright, and could take up to two hours to die. The Icelandic Food & Veterinary Authority (MAST) commissioned an expert council, which on 19 June pronounced last year’s hunt to have been unlawful.
In May an inspection report on whale welfare concluded that Hvalur’s methods of killing whales was too protracted to comply with legislation.
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