June 11, 2024, 8:47 am | Read time: 5 minutes
The Icelandic government has issued a new whaling license to the country’s last active whaling company, extending the controversial hunt for whales for another five years. Experts and animal rights activists are appalled.
Alongside Japan and Norway, Iceland is one of the few countries that continues to allow commercial whaling – with fishing quotas and licenses. But today a decision is to be made on whether Hvalur hf, the last remaining whaling and holding company in Iceland, will be granted a new license for the next five years.1
Is whaling in Iceland about to end?
Therefore, the big question being asked around the world is now: Will whaling in Iceland finally come to an end? Because, even though stricter rules for whaling have been in effect there since 2022, it is still subject to massive criticism. Although only the fin whale is still allowed to be killed there, it is now also considered endangered, because it has been hunted commercially for its oil and meat for a long time.2
There even was a temporary stop in 2023 due to animal welfare concerns, which gave hope to many animal rights activists. But then, on August 31, 2023, Food Minister Svandís Svavarsdóttir announced in a livestream, that whaling would continue in Iceland.
Environmental changes such as habitat loss, toxins in the water and the effects of climate change are further fueling the threatening situation of these rorquals. Experts also criticize the fact that it is impossible “to kill a whale in a humane way”. With these words, ZDF quotes Patrick Ramage from the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).
“It’s one man’s obsession”
Whale hunting always means massive animal suffering and is therefore automatically animal cruelty, the expert continues. “It’s brutal, it’s unnecessary, because no Icelander eats whale meat anymore. Loftsson exports to Japan and with that suffers huge financial losses.” By Loftsson, the conservationist is referring to the well-known whaler Kristján Loftsson. He is the heir to the last whaling company in Iceland. The company is called “Hvalur”, which means “whale” in Icelandic, and was founded by his father after the Second World War.3
Even when Kristján was young, he went hunting. Therefore it is assumed that the now elderly and very wealthy entrepreneur is no longer concerned with material things. “Loftsson doesn’t care, he’s a billionaire. He spends tons of money to run his whaling industry, which does not make a profit”, says Patrick Ramage, explaining the gridlock to the magazine “Spektrum”.4
Even in Japan, demand for whale meat is falling, experts say
“It’s one man’s obsession” who is pursuing an expensive hobby without any serious intention of making profit, Ramage says. According to the expert, the demand for whale meat is so low that the costs cannot be covered. “The meat of the whales he kills can only be exported to Japan, but demand there has been falling constantly for years. Even the Japanese whalers are now struggling to get rid of their whale meat.”
And what does Kristján Loftsson have to say about these accusations? Is his whale hunting really just the expensive hobby of a billionaire at the whales’ expense? No, says Loftsson. In several interviews, he insists on not having suffered any major financial losses. “We cannot know what happens to the meat once he brings it to Japan. It is difficult to track it there on the market,” Ramage counters.
What would be the consequences of a possible hunting ban?
Today, however, this controversial tradition could come to an end, if Loftsson does not get a new five-year license. Biologist Ulrich Karlowski from the German Foundation for Marine Conservation outlines three possible scenarios for PETBOOK. If Kristján Loftsson’s application is rejected, it is going to be a good day for the oceans, biodiversity and Iceland in general. “Because many people come to the island to experience marine mammals in the wild in their impressive natural environment.”
A hunting ban would mean the end of a decades-long chapter of cruel killings of wildlife that was catastrophic for the biodiversity of the Arctic Ocean. However, it could also happen that Kristján Loftsson’s application is extended, but with stricter conditions. Should this be the case, the marine scientist sees this as a clever move to put the economics of hunting large whales out of balance. Then, “one could assume, with some certainty, this marks the end of Icelandic whaling.”
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Whaling in Iceland – expert predicts a gloomy forecast
If the Icelandic government issues the company with an unrestricted license, Ulrich Karlowski predicts a gloomy forecast. If Kristján Loftsson is once again allowed to kill fin whales for commercial purposes, this would be a serious step backwards for the protection of endangered marine animals as well as a slap in the face for the Icelandic tourism industry.
But not only that. An extension of the license for whaling in Iceland also means a decision against the goals of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Because “both want to stop global mass extinction and the climate crisis. It is undisputed that large whales play an indispensable role here as living CO2 reservoirs and gardeners in the world of marine plankton.”
Apart from that, numerous studies have shown that harpooning large whales is a cruel, lengthy and by no means humane killing process, as claimed by the whaling industry, as whale expert Ulrich Karlowski tells PETBOOK.