07/06/2005

Iceland Announces Plans to Illegally Slaughter 39 Minke Whales

The government of Iceland has announced that 39 Minke whales in Icelandic waters are to be condemned to death.

Iceland passed the death sentence on the 39 whales in the name of “scientific research”. Like Japan and Norway however, the motivation is profit and not knowledge. Iceland is masquerading behind science as a justification to murder 39 intelligent sentient beings.

Last month the International Whaling Commission condemned “scientific whaling”. There is no valid justification for this excuse and Iceland, Norway, and Japan are all illegally slaughtering whales in blatant violation of international conservation law.

Iceland also has no economic justification for whaling. In 2004, only a quarter of the whale meat taken was sold. Iceland presently has 40 ton of unsold whale meat from the 2003 and 2004 whale killings in industrial freezers.

The Icelandic Tourist Association and whale watching operators have made it clear that whaling damages the reputation of the country and that whaling has a negative impact on tourism. In recent years, tourism has become a major source of income in Iceland; whale watching alone attracts around 82,000 tourists annually and is worth more than $18 million USD a year.

In 1986, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society severely crippled Icelandic whaling operations by sinking half of Iceland’s whaling fleet and destroying a whale meat processing plant. Iceland refused to lay charges against the Sea Shepherd crew despite Captain Paul Watson traveling to Iceland to demand that charges be laid against him. Iceland knew that if Sea Shepherd crew stood trial that the entire nation would be on trial for illegally violating the International Whaling Commission’s Convention.

Why does Iceland continue to kill whales?

“They do it in a pathetic attempt to hold onto the past so that they can continue to identify with their bloody legacy of whaling,” said Captain Paul Watson. “It is a blood sport to them and a way of indulging in the sadistic pleasure of killing whales and thumbing their noses at other nations. Killing whales is the pursuit of little people with small minds with a lust to destroy creatures more intelligent and more beautiful than themselves.”

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is supporting an international boycott of tourism to Iceland and a boycott of all Icelandic products.