Iceland suspends annual whale hunt due to ‘animal welfare concerns’ – and may never bring it back

There are now calls to permanently ban commercial fin whale hunting in Iceland

The tails of two 35-tonne Fin whales are bound to a Hvalur boat on 19 June 2009 after being caught off the coast of Hvalfjsrour, north of Reykjavik, on the western coast of Iceland (AFP via Getty Images)

Iceland has decided to suspend this year’s whale hunting until the end of August over animal welfare concerns, in a move that experts predict could most likely end the controversial practice for good.

Iceland’s minister of food, agriculture and fisheries Svandis Svavarsdóttir said in a statement that she decided to halt whaling operations in the country till 31 August.

The government of Iceland said the food and veterinary authority’s control report on the treatment of whales during the hunting was submitted to the ministry in May 2023 “and the conclusion of the report is that the killing of the animals took longer than allowed by the principal objective of the Act on Animal Welfare”.

Ms Svavarsdóttir cited the report, authored by an expert advisory board, that said “the method employed in hunting large whales does not comply with the Act on Animal Welfare”.

“In my opinion, the conditions of the act on animal welfare are mandatory. This activity cannot continue in the future if the authorities and the license holders can not ensure the fulfilment of the welfare requirements,” the minister said.

Animal rights groups hailed the decision, with the Humane Society International (HSI) calling it “a major milestone in compassionate whale conservation”.

“Humane Society International is thrilled at this news and praises Minister Svavarsdóttir for ending the senseless whale killing which will spare hundreds of minke and imperilled fin whales from agonising and protracted deaths,” HSI Europe’s executive director Ruud Tombrock said in a statement.

Iceland is one of the three countries in the world that hunt whales commercially, along with Japan and Norway.

Last year, Ms Svavarsdóttir was in favour of ending the controversial practice from 2024.

Iceland has only one whaling company, Hvalur, remaining in the country and reports said its licence to hunt fin whales expires this year. Another whaling company stopped operations in 2020 after it was no longer able to make profits.

Iceland’s whaling season runs from mid-June to mid-September. There is also now the suspicion that Hvalur might not be able to hunt fin whales later in the season.

HSI is also pushing for a permanent ban. “There is no humane way to kill a whale at sea, and so we urge the minister to make this a permanent ban,” Mr Tombrock told the media.

“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.”

In 2009, several countries including the UK, the US, Germany, France, Portugal and Spain condemned Iceland’s whaling policy.