In Iceland, whales are not hunted for the second year in a row – Nature – Travel

Only in Iceland, Norway, Japan and the Faroe Islands are the last countries in the world to hunt whales. Iceland’s two only commercial whaling companies have both announced that they will not hunt whales this summer.

Gunnar Bergmann Jonsson of IP-Utgerd tells AFP: “I will never hunt whales again. I’m going to stop forever.”” Kristjan Loftsson from the other company Hvalur will not drop his ships this summer either. In Morgunsbladid, he explains that social deprivation during this coronary crisis makes whaling and animal processing very complicated. But that is not the full explanation, because his ships remained in port in the summer of 2019. It also has to do with the fact that most whale meat is exported from Iceland to Japan, but there the demand for the meat has fallen enormously.

Little enthusiasm for whale meat

Whaling in Iceland could be on its last legs, writes National Geographic. The desire to hunt the large mammals was always less and less great than in the other two countries: Japan and Norway. According to a current pole International Fund for Animal Welfare less than one percent of Iceland’s population regularly eat whale meat. 81% of Icelanders have never consumed it. According to NGOs such as Reykjavik Animal Save, Jaroarvinir and Gaia Island, whale-eating island is not a tradition at all, but something that was taken over by Norway decades ago.

Arni Finsson of Island Nature Conservation National Geographic tells National Geographic that whale meat was always seen as cheap, inferior food: “When I was a kid in Akureyri in the north of the country, we always looked at minke whales on Wednesdays. It was very cheap and not the kind of food a family would eat on Sunday. It wasn’t that good.’

Another reason why whale hunting in Iceland is increasingly disgraceful is that it is harming the tourism industry, especially the boat trips where tourists watch whales. They are not waiting to see whales killed.

Iceland, Norway and Japan, as well as the Faroe Islands, are the only countries that have been hunting whaling since the International Whaling Commission In 1982, from 1986, it decided to impose a ban on this yacht. Seven major countries voted against the ban. Norway has never stopped hunting whales, Iceland did not take a break until 2003 and Japan announced this year that it would stop hunting in Antarctica. That is less positive than it may sound. On the other hand, government subsidies are used to hunt japan itself in the territorial waters.

As in Iceland, the consumption of whale meat is very low: on average, a Japanese eats only forty grams of meat per year, which corresponds to a slice of hesp. Even in Norway, enthusiasm has declined recently. The number of exports of boats in 2017 was only half as fast as in 2016. In Norway, only hunting minke whales is allowed. According to their own quota, they are allowed to kill 1278 per year. In 2019, “only” 429 minke whales were killed, the lowest number in 20 years.

Only in Iceland, Norway, Japan and the Faroe Islands are the last countries in the world to hunt whales. Iceland’s two only commercial whaling companies have both announced that they will not hunt whales this summer. Gunnar Bergmann Jonsson of IP-Utgerd tells AFP: “I will never hunt whales again. I’m going to stop forever.”” Kristjan Loftsson from the other company Hvalur will not drop his ships this summer either. In Morgunsbladid, he explains that social deprivation during this coronary crisis makes whaling and animal processing very complicated. But that is not the full explanation, because his ships remained in port in the summer of 2019. It also has to do with the fact that most whale meat is exported from Iceland to Japan, but there the demand for the meat has fallen enormously. Little appetite for whale meat Whaling in Iceland could be on its last legs, writes National Geographic. The desire to hunt the large mammals was always less and less great than in the other two countries: Japan and Norway. According to a recent international fund for animal welfare, less than one percent of the Isis population regularly eats whale meat. 81% of Icelanders have never consumed it. According to NGOs such as Reykjavik Animal Save, Jaroarvinir and Gaia Island, whale-eating island is not a tradition at all, but something that was taken over by Norway decades ago. Arni Finsson of Iceland Nature Conservation tells National Geographic that whale meat has always been seen as cheap, inferior food: “When I was a kid in Akureyri in the north of the country, we always ate minke whales on Wednesday. It was very cheap and not the kind of food a family would eat on Sunday. It wasn’t that good.’ Another reason why whale hunting in Iceland is becoming increasingly disgraceful is that it is harming the tourism industry and, above all, the boat trips where tourists observe whales. They are not waiting to see whales killed. Iceland, Norway and Japan, as well as the Faroe Islands, are the only countries still hunting whaling since the International Whaling Commission decided in 1982 to ban this yacht from 1986. Seven major countries voted against the ban. Norway has never stopped hunting whales, Iceland did not take a break until 2003 and Japan announced this year that it would stop hunting in Antarctica. That is less positive than it may sound. On the other hand, government subsidies are used to hunt japan itself in the territorial waters. As in Iceland, the consumption of whale meat is very low: on average, a Japanese eats only forty grams of meat per year, which corresponds to a slice of hesp. Even in Norway, enthusiasm has declined recently. The number of exports of boats in 2017 was only half as fast as in 2016. In Norway, only hunting minke whales is allowed. According to their own quota, they are allowed to kill 1278 per year. In 2019, “only” 429 minke whales were killed, the lowest number in 20 years.