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Reuters

Iceland’s government said it will resume hunting fin whales after a two-month halt, but with new guidelines aimed at killing them as quickly as possible to reduce suffering.
Iceland resumed hunting fin whales, which can reach lengths of over 20 metres (65 feet), in 2006 after a 20-year pause.
The International Whaling Commission – a global body that oversees whale conservation – imposed a moratorium in 1986 after some species came close to extinction.
Although several are still endangered or even on the brink of extinction, Iceland, along with Norway and Japan, have resumed commercial whaling.
Reykjavik suspended commercial whaling in June after a government-commissioned report said that it took too long for whales to die after they were harpooned, sometimes hours, in breach of its law on animal welfare.
The hunting will be resumed after a government working group concluded that it was possible to improve the hunting methods.
Roger Payne, scientist who discovered whales can sing, dies at 88
“A Regulation will be issued that will include detailed and stricter requirements for hunting equipment and hunting methods, as well as increased supervision,” the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries said in a statement on Thursday.
Iceland’s public broadcaster said whale hunters would be required to complete a course in whale biology, pain perception and stress.
They will be also provided with detailed instructions of how to harpoon the animals to make sure that they die quickly.
Humane Society International, an animal welfare advocacy group, condemned the move as a “devastating” rejection of an opportunity to “do the right thing”.
“There is simply no way to make harpooning whales at sea anything other than cruel and bloody, and no amount of modifications will change that,” said Ruud Tombrock, executive director of the group.
The country has only one remaining whaling company, Hvalur, and its licence to hunt fin whales expires in 2023.

Another company hung up its harpoons for good in 2020, saying it was no longer profitable.
Annual quotas authorise the killing of 209 fin whales – the second-longest marine mammal after the blue whale – and 217 minke whales, one of the smallest species.
But catches have fallen drastically in recent years due to a dwindling market for whale meat.
Opposition to whaling has been on the rise in Iceland with a majority now in favour of dropping the practice.
Why a new Japanese whaling ship is good news for animal welfare campaigners
A survey published in early June indicated that 51 per cent of Icelanders were opposed to the hunt and 29 per cent in favour, with over-60s those most in favour.
Iceland has depended heavily on fishing and whaling for centuries.
But in the past two decades its tourism industry, including whale watching tours, has blossomed – and the two key sectors of the economy have diverging interests.
Japan, by far the biggest market for whale meat, resumed commercial whaling in 2019 after a three-decade hiatus, drastically reducing the need for imports from Iceland.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse and Associated Press


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Conservation

Iceland resumes whale hunting after temporary ban, but slaughter needs to be faster

Opposition to whaling has been on the rise in Iceland. File photo: AFP


Along with Norway and Japan, Iceland is one of the only countries still practising commercial whaling. File photo: TNS

Iceland suspends whale hunting over animal welfare concerns

Opposition to whaling has been on the rise in Iceland. File photo: AFP

The carcass of a Fin whale near a processing plant in Hvalfjordur, Iceland. File photo: Reuters

 A Blue whale awaiting slaughter in Hvalfjordur, Iceland in 2018. File photo: Sea Shepherd Global via AFP

How a dispute over whaling could spur Japan’s exit from US Indo-Pacific trade pact: ‘Kishida has zero leeway’

A whale is unloaded in Hokkaido in 2019 after Japan resumed commercial hunting of the marine mammals. Photo: AFP

A customer shows whale meat bought from a vending machine in Yokohama owned and operated by a Japanese whaling company. Photo: Reuters

A minke whale is unloaded at a port in the Hokkaido city of Kushiro in 2019. The Japanese public is broadly defensive of the country’s whaling industry, though the number of people who eat whale meat has been on the decline for years. Photo: Kyodo

US President Joe Biden, Japan’s Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, and South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol during the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Japan in May. They are due to meet again in the US on Friday. Photo: AFP

Hong Kong buries dead whale earlier spotted alive in city’s waters, carcass treated with chemicals before process

The whale was found dead off Shelter Island in Sai Kung on July 31 with its body then transported to High Island Reservoir’s west dam. Photo: Sam Tsang

A staff in protective gear handles bones of the dead animal, with most of the flesh already stripped from its body. Photo: Sam Tsang

The entire decomposition process for the whale is expected to last half a year, after which its skeleton will be donated to Ocean Park for research. Photo: Sam Tsang

Heaviest animal ever? Scientists discover massive ancient whale

Perucetus colossus, an early whale from Peru that lived about 38-40 million years ago, is seen in an undated artist’s rendition. Image: Alberto Gennari via Reuters

Scientists excavate a Perucetus colossus vertebra fossil in a remote coastal desert in southern Peru. Photo: Giovanni Bianucci via Reuters

A single Perucetus colossus vertebra is prepared for transport from the site of origin in the Ica desert in southern Peru to the Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor San Marcos, in Lima. Photo: Department of Earth Sciences, University of Pisa via AP

Perucetus colossus, an early whale from Peru that lived about 38-40 million years ago, is depicted along with two penguins in an undated artist’s rendition. Image: Alberto Gennari via Reuters

News

World

Iceland lifts temporary ban on commercial whaling imposed in June, but with stricter requirements on hunting methods
Iceland, along with Norway and Japan, is one of a handful of countries that still allow commercial whale hunting


Animal rights groups responded to the decision with dismay and called it ‘shameful’.


Animals

Iceland

Environment

Iceland resumes whale hunting after temporary ban, but slaughter needs to be faster

Iceland lifts temporary ban on commercial whaling imposed in June, but with stricter requirements on hunting methods Iceland, along with Norway and Japan, is one of a handful of countries that still allow commercial whale hunting

Iceland lifts temporary ban on commercial whaling imposed in June, but with stricter requirements on hunting methods

Iceland, along with Norway and Japan, is one of a handful of countries that still allow commercial whale hunting