Icelandic whales will be safe in 2020

Reykjavik, 28 April 2020 – IFAW welcomes the announcement of the two Icelandic whaling companies that they wouldn’t hunt whales this summer. Iceland sees its second year in a row without whaling.

Patrick Ramage, IFAW’s Marine Conservation Programme Director, said: “It is now clear that what we are seeing is the end of Icelandic whaling, which is good news for whales, good news for Iceland and good news for marine conservation worldwide.”

“IFAW salutes and commends our longtime partners and friends in Iceland who have been working to end the cruel and wasteful killing of fin whales and minke whales in Icelandic waters and finally to end consumption of whale meat by international tourists.”

In a media interview, Kristjan Loftsson, Hvalur's chief executive – the only company involved in Iceland fin whaling – said he would not whale this year due to Japan’s competition and the current Covid-19 related restrictions.

Gunnar Bergmann Jonsson, Managing Director of the minke whaling company IP-Utgerd, told AFP he was putting an end to his whaling activities for good.

Fin whales – the second largest animal on Earth – are only killed in Iceland for exportation to Japan while minke whales are killed mainly to feed tourists in the country.

Over 1,500 fin and minke whales have been killed in Iceland since 2003 – the year the country resumed commercial whaling.

To support IFAW’s efforts to protect whales in Iceland, find out more about Meet Us Don’t Eat Us or to sign our whales petition visit www.ifaw.is

For more information, images, or to arrange interviews, please contact:
Benjamin Wiacek, Communications Manager, +32 472 17 15 81, bwiacek@ifaw.org

Alternatively, please visit www.ifaw.org

About IFAW

The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) is a global non-profit helping animals and people thrive together. We are experts and everyday people, working across seas, oceans, and in more than 40 countries around the world. We rescue, rehabilitate, and release animals, and we restore and protect their natural habitats. The problems we’re up against are urgent and complicated. To solve them, we match fresh thinking with bold action. We partner with local communities, governments, non-governmental organisations, and businesses. Together, we pioneer new and innovative ways to help all species flourish. See how at ifaw.org.