Breaking! Norway Plans To Slaughter More Than 1,200 Minke Whales During Their Gruesome 2021 Whale Hunting Season
Lauren Lewis
In defiance of a global moratorium on commercial whaling, Norway has again issued an annual kill quota of 1,278 minke whales for their barbaric 2021 whaling season.
On Friday, Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen, Norway’s Minister of Fisheries, announced the quota, which remains unchanged from last year. Ingebrigtsen said he hopes the “upward trend in demand for whale meat will continue.” Sickening! Echoing Ingebrigtsen’s sentiment, the whaling industry also claims that demand for whale meat has improved, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, a recent survey commissioned by the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) and others found that only 4% of Norwegians polled admitted to eating whale meat “often,” while two-thirds either have never eaten it or only did so “a long time ago.”
Norway’s 2020 whaling season ran from April 1st to September 30th. Slightly more than 500 whales were killed, compared to 429 in 2019. This is the highest total since 2016, when nearly 600 whales were killed. Sixteen whaling vessels requested a permit to hunt whales last year, but only 13 participated.
Last spring, the Norwegian Fisheries Directorate relaxed a number of whaling regulations to encourage additional vessels to participate in whaling. AWI joined with a number of other organizations in contesting the agency’s plan, but to no avail. The government also permitted whalers to forego qualifying tests for rifle shooting.
“Allowing whalers to skip these necessary tests is unacceptable, and could have serious repercussions for animal welfare,” Kate O’Connell, AWI’s marine animal consultant, said in a statement. “Each year, dozens of whales who are shot by grenade-tipped harpoons do not die instantly; they must be shot by rifles to end their suffering.”
The International Whaling Commission (IWC) imposed a global moratorium on commercial whaling in 1982, yet Norway formally objected and resumed commercial whaling 11 years later. Since that time, the country has killed more than 14,000 minke whales.
In December, the Vestvågøy Fishing Association requested that the Norwegian government support the whaling industry in order to “make it more attractive to catch whales,” including offering whalers an increased cod quota.
Norway and other countries that continue these brutal and senseless hunts must catch up to the rest of the world and put an end to the archaic and cruel whaling industry for good!
You can help all animals and our planet by choosing compassion on your plate and in your glass. #GoVeg
