Iceland to propose whaling ban, leaving Norway and Japan isolated
The bill would end commercial whaling in Iceland, where 80 fin whales had been caught this season and conservation groups have pressed for years.
- Iceland's government will submit a bill in February to implement "a permanent ban on whaling," leaving Norway and Japan as the only two countries continuing commercial whaling operations.
- Despite a 1986 international moratorium to protect whale populations, commercial whaling persisted; Norway resumed in 1993 and Iceland in 2006, targeting Fin whales classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
- In this year's hunting season, 80 Fin whales were caught as of September 9, beneath the 150-whale quota. Iceland's interim government issued a five-year license in 2024 to its sole remaining Whaling company, sparking years of protests.
- Wendy Higgins, a Humane World for Animals spokeswoman, said "There is considerable political and public support for this bill to ban commercial whaling, and compelling ethical, veterinary, legal and conservation reasons to hope it succeeds."
- While the moratorium permits indigenous groups in Alaska and Greenland to hunt whales for cultural needs, Japan remains isolated after withdrawing from the International Whaling Commission in 2019.
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51 Articles
In August, Iceland expelled 21 anti-whaling activists from the country.
The Government of Iceland will present next February a bill to ban whaling, a measure that would leave Norway and Japan as the only two countries in the world that would continue to practice commercial hunting of cetaceans.Whale hunting in Iceland has in recent years provoked numerous protests by animal welfare advocates and various Hollywood celebrities.The bill will include "a permanent ban on whaling", as announced on its website Wednesday by…
A bill will be submitted in February. If it is adopted, which is likely, Norway and Japan will remain the only two countries to allow it.
Iceland is going to ban whaling. The country's government announced it will introduce a bill for a ‘permanent ban on whaling’ in February, Bloomberg reports. The ban would leave Japan and Norway as the only countries where commercial whaling takes place.
Several countries are engaged in commercial whaling despite an international moratorium. The government in Iceland wants to impose a permanent ban.
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