Animal Welfare Monitoring on Whaling Ships
This year, animal welfare monitoring on whaling ships will be mandatory. In Iceland, one last whaling company that owes two vessels is back in the water. After a four years hiatus, Hvalur hf. whaling company resumed its killing of whales. To make sure that the company is following all the guidelines, they are sending an inspector to the ships.
In Iceland, whaling started from June until September. Over a hundred whales are killed in these short months. Their parts are used for meat, fat, perfumes and other things. To help lessen the pain of this horrific practice, The Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority will monitor the whaling company’s hunts. The person on board’s sole job will be to ensure that the laws and regulations are followed. These new laws were enforced by Minister of Fisheries Svandís Svavarsdóttir. The Directorate of Fisheries is responsible for sending inspectors on hunting trips and recording the process. A supervising veterinarian will evaluate the data.
According to Svadís, animal welfare monitoring on whaling ships will ensure that laws and regulations are followed. The data collected will determine whether other changes need to be made. The point is to make sure the whaling company is following all the regulations. This also includes regular inspection of their whaling equipment and practice.
While this is great news for animal activists, it’s not enough. It’s unclear whether a person will be present on all whaling trips or randomly. One thing we can celebrate is that 2023 will be the last year Iceland’s whaling company will kill whales. We just have to stay strong and endure one more season of whale killing.
