Iceland’s lone whaling company’s ongoing defiance of an international ban on commercial whaling is outrageous and offence enough as it continues to target endangered fin and minke whales, but now it’s reached a new low after having illegally slaughtered the first blue whale in decades. After a two year break from whaling, Hvalur hf announced […]
Tag: whaling
POLL: Should Iceland be sanctioned for resuming whaling?
Icelandic fishermen will resume their hunt for the endangered fin whale this year after a two-year pause and have set a target of 191 kills for the season. An apparent loosening of Japanese regulations on Icelandic exports had made the resumption of the hunting commercially viable again, the country’s only fin whaling company, Hvalur, announced. […]
POLL: Should the keeping of dolphins and whales in tanks be banned worldwide?
It’s been nearly 9 years since The Cove brought the story of dolphin massacres in Taiji, Japan, and the issue of captive cetaceans before the eyes of millions of people around the world. The film shows viewers the images of fishers corralling dozens of thrashing and squealing dolphins into nets set up in Japan’s sheltered […]
POLL: Should the Faroese be sanctioned for continuing to slaughter whales?
The people of Faroe Islands take it very seriously when it comes to whaling. Not only has it always been a tradition, but also at a certain time—a survival necessity. In modern times, when the whale meat can be altered with other food supply and is said to contain dangerous amounts of mercury, it has […]
POLL: Should Norway be sanctioned for boosting its whaling quota?
Norway has announced a 28% increase of its annual whaling quota to 1,278 whales in a bid to revive the declining hunt amid international controversy. Whalers have for several years failed to meet the quotas set by Oslo and the number of whaling boats has plunged. “I hope the quota and the merging of fishing […]
No Calves This Year Means Right Whales Are Closer to Extinction
Scientists were already worried about the survival of North Atlantic right whales following a slew of tragic deaths over the past year. Now, even more concerns are being raised about the lack of calves this year. Once considered the “right” whales to kill, this species was nearly hunted to extinction. Today, there are estimated to […]
How Sea Shepherd lost battle against Japan’s whale hunters in Antarctic
A fleet of Japanese ships is currently hunting minke whales in the Southern Ocean. It is a politically incendiary practice: the waters around Antarctica were long ago declared a whale sanctuary, but the designation has not halted Japan’s whalers, who are continuing a tradition of catching whales “for scientific research” in the region. In the […]
POLL: Should Japan be sanctioned for slaughtering dolphins and whales?
Taiji is still in darkness when a dozen men gather at the quayside and warm themselves over a brazier. While the rest of the town sleeps, they sip from cans of hot coffee, smoke cigarettes and talk in hushed tones. As soon as the sun edges above the peninsula, they take to their boats, steering […]
POLL: Should Japan be sanctioned for continuing to slaughter whales?
The past two years have been tough going for the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. A big part of its mission since 2005 has been to intercept and stop Japanese ships from hunting whales. Every such outing costs Sea Shepherd about $4 million. In the years when they found success and actually foiled Japan’s whalers, that […]
Endangered Right Whales suffer losses that threaten their future survival
North Atlantic right whales are now one of the most endangered whales on earth, and a string of recent deaths has raised questions about their future survival. Once known as the “right” whale to kill because their slow movements and time spent at the surface made them easy targets, right whales were nearly decimated by […]
