Home / Environment / Iceland Bans Whaling, Leaving Norway and Japan Alone
Iceland Bans Whaling, Leaving Norway and Japan Alone
10 Sep
Summary
- Iceland will ban commercial whaling with a new bill.
- Fin whales, hunted in Iceland, are classified as vulnerable.
- Norway and Japan remain the only nations with commercial whaling.
Iceland's government is preparing to submit a bill in February to permanently ban commercial whaling. This legislative action, supported by a parliamentary majority, would position Norway and Japan as the sole countries globally still engaged in the practice. The move follows years of protests from animal welfare organizations and public figures.
Fin whales, the main species targeted by Iceland's whaling operations, are listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Despite ethical, conservation, and legal arguments, an interim government had issued a five-year whaling license in 2024 to the country's last whaling company. International commercial whaling has been controversial, with Norway and Iceland resuming the practice after an international moratorium took effect in 1986.
