The Icelandic Minister of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, Svandís Svavarsdóttir, has ordered the suspension of the whaling season until August 31, pending new reports on the adaptation of these catches to the current Animal Welfare Law.
The control report of the Food and Veterinary Authority on the treatment of whales during fin whale hunting was presented to the Ministry in May 2023 and the conclusion of the report is that the captures of these animals do not adapt to current legislation, among other reasons, because they are carried out using techniques and for a longer time than recommended to protect the affected species. In Iceland, legal hunting quotas of up to 500 specimens of fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) and minke whales (minke whales, Balaenoptera acutorostrata) were in force until 2023.
Following the publication of the report, the Food and Veterinary Authority commissioned the Animal Welfare Expert Advisory Council to assess whether this hunt could meet the objective of the Animal Welfare Act. The opinion of the Advisory Council of Experts was presented to the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries on June 19 and its conclusion is that the method used in the hunting of large whales does not comply with the Animal Welfare Law.
The minister Svandís Svavarsdóttir exposed in February 2022 the possibility that Iceland would stop hunting whales by simply applying the non-renewal of the licenses in force until 2023. The minister indicated that, in addition to environmental reasons and the protection of cetaceans, the completion of the hunting of these animals would be the result of the lack of economic profitability of their practice.
"It is necessary, in view of this conclusion, to delay the start of the whaling season in order to have time to examine whether it is possible to establish rules that can ensure that whaling will be carried out in accordance with the mandatory minimum standards set out in the Law Animal Welfare", indicated the Icelandic ministry in an official note published on June 20.
Minister Svandís Svavarsdóttir stresses that she has decided to "suspend all whaling operations in view of the decisive opinion of the Animal Welfare Expert Advisory Council." "In my opinion, the conditions of the Animal Welfare Law are mandatory. This The activity cannot continue in the future if the authorities and license holders cannot guarantee compliance with the welfare requirements”, indicates the minister.
The Icelandic ministry specifies that the temporary suspension adopted "gives room to explore possible improvements and legal conditions to establish more limitations on whaling on the basis of the Animal Welfare Law and the Whaling Law", for which reason they maintain contacts with specialized scientists and affected companies.
