Norwegian whale slaughter ramps up
Norway’s whale hunters continue to kill large numbers of minke since the hunt season began on 1st April.
‘Last summer marked a four-year high with 503 whales killed’, says WDC anti whaling campaigner Vanessa Williams-Grey. ‘But this year, the whalers seem intent on a record killing spree just to make a point - already killing 416 whales.’
With the season set to continue until October the whalers have killed almost as many as their final total for the entire 2019 season, which saw 429 whales slaughtered.
With Norway’s self-allocated quota (number of whales that can be killed) set at 1,278, and seventeen boats licensed to hunt this year, the grim tally so far looks set to rapidly increase.
Over the past decade, Norwegian whalers have killed more whales than either Japan or Iceland - and on three occasions during that period, have killed more whales than those two nations combined.
It’s no secret that whaling is inhumane. A 2018 report submitted to the International Whaling Commission (IWC, the body that regulates whaling) by Norwegian authorities revealed that almost a fifth of the whales shot by grenade-tipped harpoons suffer for up to 25 minutes before dying. These statistics are only likely to worsen, given the Norwegian government’s recent decision to relax the regulations.
Vanessa continued: ‘Most people are unaware that over two-thirds of the whales killed are females and many of them are pregnant, so this is a tragedy from a conservation as well as a moral perspective.
‘Whales are our allies in the fight against climate change. They store large amounts of carbon in their bodies over decades, which consequently can‘t form into climate-damaging carbon dioxide. They also contribute to a healthy marine ecosystem. If we protect whales, we protect ourselves.'
Demand for whale meat is falling in Norway, as a study commissioned by WDC and other NGOs revealed. Only 4% of Norwegians surveyed said that they ate whale meat ‘often’. As a result, the government in Norway heavily subsidies the industry to keep it afloat.
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It is so sad to see lazy politicians financing the continued slaughter of an amazing animal rather than working for the country in developing alternative revenues for the Norwegian fishermen. It seems we will continue to use and abuse our wildlife until strong leadership takes us away from these sadistic and cruel actions.
And I thought Norway was one of the civilised countries – how wrong I was!
Let’s hope this brutal behavior will result in a tourism ban. WHY ARE WE HUMANS SO STUPID.
WHAT TERRIBLE PEOLE THESE NORWEIGNS ARE, KILLING WHALES FOR MEAT AND PRETENDING THEY WANT THEM FOR RESCEARCH, WHAT A LOAD OF RUBBISH.
SHAME ON YOU NORWAY, LEAVE THE WHALES ALONE THEY HAVE NOT DONE YOU ANY HARM, SO DON’T DO THEM ANY HARM. LET THEM SWIM IN PEACE AND LIVE THEIR LONG LIVES.
I THOUGHT NORWAY WAS A CIVILISED COUNTRY, BUT TO BE WORSE THAN JAPAN AND ICELAND PUT TOGETHER ! WHAT DISGUISTING PEOPLE YOU ARE.
LEAVE THE WHALES ALONE.
Please make actions available on things like this. A huge petition to the Norway government might make a difference. I would happily sign and share on social media, as I am sure a lot of people would.
Please campaign more!
I always had the impression that Norway was a forward thinking civilised country but have been dismayed to read that this destructive and barbaric activity continues. The human race needs to move on and not live in the past and countries like Norway should be taking the lead. Very disappointed.