The hunt may end completely, as the country’s only whaling company had already announced that it would stop hunting after this season.
Iceland freezes whaling for animal protection reasons at least until the end of August, says the government’s food minister responsible for the matter Svandis Svavarsdottir.
The decision on the matter was made after the government received a report last month, according to which whaling is against the Icelandic Animal Protection Act.
Iceland’s last commercial whaling company, Hvalur, had previously announced that the current whaling season would be the company’s last, as hunting is no longer commercially viable.
The whaling season in Iceland has traditionally lasted from mid-June to mid-September. However, it is highly unlikely that the company would continue the pending fishing in September.
The majority opposes trapping
Iceland’s whaling quota allows for 209 herring whales and 217 bay whales. However, catch numbers have decreased rapidly in recent years, as the market for whale meat has shrunk.
According to a report by the Icelandic food and veterinary authorities on the capture of the herring whale, the capture took up to five hours and caused the animal intolerable pain.
– If the government and the license holders are not able to meet the animal protection requirements, this activity has no future, Svavarsdottir reasoned.
Iceland, Norway and Japan have continued whaling despite fierce opposition from animal activists and environmentalists for decades.
According to recent polls, the majority of citizens in Iceland support ending whaling.
Source: AFP