Iceland Has Killed Its ‘Last’ Whale As Industry Shuts Down ‘For Good’

Icelandic whaling business IP-Utgerd has announced it is ending whaling for good. “ I’m never going to hunt whales again, I’m stopping for good ,” Gunnar Jonsson, managing director for IP-Utgerd, told the AFP. The company is one of the nation’s two remaining whaling operations. Animal rights advocates welcomed the news. “ This is indeed terrific news that for a second straight year, vulnerable fin whales will get a reprieve from Hvalur hf.’s harpoons ,” Fabienne McLellan, co-director of international relations at the conservation nonprofit Ocean Care, told Mongabay. Iceland’s second whaling firm, Hvalur, said it will not hunt any whales this year. Hvalur revealed it canceled its hunt this year due to export problems and social distancing requirements amid the novel coronavirus outbreak. McLellan added: “ This said, fin whaling has been suspended in Iceland in the past, only to resume. While it looks promising that whaling in Iceland might stop for good, the temporary cessation of fin whaling must become permanent.” In 1986, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) passed a global moratorium on commercial whaling. However, Iceland—which lodged an official objection against the ban—resumed whaling in 2006. Icelandic media network RUV reported last week that the country […]

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