Stop Iceland’s Whale Killers!

Iceland has begun killing whales again. Already Icelandic whalers have set sail to begin the cruel slaughter of 100 minke and 150 endangered fin whales this summer. Whales have already been cruelly harpooned. In response Campaign Whale has launched our ‘Stop Iceland’s Whale Killers’ campaign to convince the Icelandic Government that whaling is bad for business.

You can help stop Iceland’s whale killers simply avoiding buying Icelandic fish and prawns in protest at the renewed slaughter of whales. We are also calling on leading retailers in the UK, US and Europe – Iceland’s most important export markets – to stop purchasing seafood products from Iceland’s cruel whale killers.

Image above: Endangered fin whales are landed at the whaling station on Iceland. The meat will be frozen and shipped to Japan as there is no market for it in Iceland, Japan, Norway and Iceland have refused to abide by an international ban on trade in whale products.

Take Action

The biggest markets for Icelandic seafood are the UK, EU and US. Do you want to buy your fish and prawns from whale killers? If these countries cannot sell their seafood then there is no point in killing whales. So let’s show Iceland that whaling really is bad for business!

Listed below are actions you can take to help our campaign:

1) Pledge to avoid Icelandic seafood

Iceland depends on selling seafood to countries that are strongly opposed to whaling. We can stop the whale killers simply by refusing to buy Icelandic fish and prawns. If you agree, please click here to sign our pledge to avoid ALL Icelandic seafood products until the Country stops killing whales.

2) Contact retailers

Please contact the leading UK retailers below and tell them that you do not want to buy Icelandic seafood until Iceland stops killing whales. Please also ask them to stop buying Icelandic fish and prawns from fishing boats and companies involved in whaling.

Please click here for the retailer contacts

3)  Write to the Icelandic Embassy

Please also send your protest to the Icelandic Embassy in your country today. If you do not know the address, please click here to visit the Icelandic Embassy’s website.

Please tell the Ambassador:

* You want Iceland to stop whaling immediately
* You will not visit Iceland or buy any Icelandic seafood products until all whaling stops

Listed below are contact details of the Icelandic Embassies in the US, UK and Germany:
The Ambassador
Embassy of Iceland, 1156 15th Street N.W, Suite 1200, Washington DC 20005-1704, USA.
Tel.:  202-265-6653  202-265-6653
E-Mail: icemb.wash@utn.stjr.is
Web site: http://www.iceland.org/us
Benedikt Jonsson
The Ambassador, Embassy of Iceland, 2A Hans Street, London SW1X 0JE, UK.
Tel:  0207-259-3999  0207-259-3999
E-mail: icemb.london@utn.stjr.is
Botschafter
Botschaft von Island, Rauchstrasse 1, 10787 Berlin, Germany.
Tel. 49.30.5050 4000
Email: icemb.berlin@utn.stjr.is

4)  Please also help our campaign by:

Background information

Iceland was the first nation to begin a so-called ‘scientific’ whaling programme in defiance of a ban on commercial whaling introduced by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in 1986. Following an international boycott campaign against Icelandic fish products, Iceland stopped ‘scientific’ whaling in 1989 and walked out of the IWC in protest at the ongoing ban on commercial whaling in 1992. However, in 2002 Iceland rejoined the IWC and lodged an ‘objection’ to the whaling ban. This means Iceland can kill whales perfectly legally while defying the international ban on commercial whaling.

Iceland claims that whales are a threat to fish stocks, but it is human over-fishing that is emptying our oceans of fish, not the whales. The whalers claim renewed whale hunting will create jobs, but whales are worth far more alive than dead.

They have a choice:

Iceland has a rapidly growing whale-watching and eco-tourism industry that has been put at risk by the resumption of whaling. In 2002, over 62,000 people went whale-watching in the country. For this reason, Campaign Whale believes Iceland will lose more than it can ever gain by killing these whales.

How you can help:

Iceland’s biggest export markets for fish are in the US, UK and Germany, countries where whaling is strongly opposed. Campaign Whale is calling on leading retailers to stop buying their fish from whale killers.

Please click here for further information on the cruelty of the whaling industry.

Current situation

Iceland’s application to join the European Union has been accepted and formal negotiations are now underway. Commercial whaling is forbidden under EU law and the European Parliament has just passed a resolution calling on Iceland to stop whaling.  However, with public opinion in Iceland deeply divided over EU membership, there is no certainty the country will join and whaling will stop. The issue will ultimately be decided by a national referendum.

Iceland’s decision to resume commercial whaling was taken by outgoing Fisheries Minister Einar Gudfinnsson, who announced in January 2009 that 100 minke whales and 150 endangered fin whales could be hunted each year until 2013.

However, a new government was formed in Iceland raising hopes of  a reversal in whaling policy. The new administration said the whaling policy would be ‘totally reassessed with regard to sustainability and importance for (the) national economy as a whole, as well as Iceland’s international obligations and Iceland’s image’. Unfortunately, since then attitudes have hardened and whaling looks set to continue, so it is up to us to convince the Icelanders that whale killing is bad for business.

Watch whales, don’t kill them

Iceland has a booming tourism industry and whale watching is extremely popular. The revenue from whale watching greatly exceeds any income from whaling. Operators have already expressed alarm at the cancellation of holidays as a direct result of whaling.

Campaign Update

To read the latest campaign updates please click here to visit the Campaign Whale News section.