No More Suffering: Whale Hunting Suspended Here

Iceland has momentarily suspended all whale hunting within the country due to animal welfare concerns.

“Whales already face so many serious threats in the oceans from pollution, climate change, entanglement in fish nets, and ship strikes, that ending cruel commercial whaling is the only ethical conclusion,” says the Human Society Internationanal’s director, Ruud Tombrock.

Iceland’s Food and Veterinary Authority found that the killing of whales took “too long” after a shocking video was released showing a whale suffering as it was hunted for five continuous hours before dying. Iceland, alongside Norway and Japan, are the only three countries that still whale hunt today, with the Human Society International hailing Iceland’s suspension as a “major milestone in compassionate whale conservation.”

Though Iceland’s most recent move is only temporary, animal activists and environmentalists are hopeful it will become permanent, and recent surveys show that the majority of Icelanders are in favor of abolishing the practice entirely within the country. The government has announced that should animal welfare requirements not be met, whaling will not resume and has no future in the country.