Urge Iceland to Ban Whale Hunting

In December 2024, Iceland's outgoing Prime Minister, Bjarni Benediktsson, made one of his final acts as leader of the small island nation the shockingly cruel and morally indefensible decision to issue new licenses for commercial whaling. These licenses authorize the killing of up to 209 fin whales and 217 minke whales annually over the next five years.

This is a devastating step backward for marine mammal conservation and an illogical move by Iceland’s outgoing Independence Party. Former Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson’s party has been staunch supporters of the nation’s tiny whaling industry, despite the fact that the market for whale products is rapidly declining globally, while whale watching is far more profitable for Iceland and enjoys much wider public support. The outgoing party has even faced accusations of corrupt ties to Iceland's small whaling lobby, with secret recordings allegedly exposing political deal-making within the party to secure these licenses.

The whales that are killed by whalers often experience horrific deaths, with a report released by the Icelandic food and veterinary authority revealing that whales have taken as long as two hours to die during Icelandic hunts. The whales that fall victim to this disgraceful industry are shot with explosive harpoons that cause extreme suffering, and many are struck with these violent devices multiple times before they succumb to their injuries. 

The new whaling licenses are particularly egregious because they target fin whales, a species classified as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™, meaning they face a high risk of extinction in the wild. Whales are already under immense pressure from a growing list of threats, including direct causes of death such as accidental entanglement in fishing gear (bycatch) and ship strikes, as well as broader environmental pressures like climate change and ocean pollution, which degrade their habitats and reduce their food sources. Currently, six of the 13 great whale species are considered vulnerable or endangered. This is despite decades of recovery efforts following the International Whaling Commission’s (IWC) 1982 commercial whaling moratorium.

Iceland’s decision to ignore conservation science and flout international agreements designed to protect these magnificent creatures, who play a key role in maintaining the health of our oceans, is unacceptable. Iceland’s new coalition government, led by Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir of the Social Democratic Alliance, has publicly opposed whaling. Now they have the opportunity to make a real difference for marine conservation, undo the harmful legacy of the previous administration, and ban whaling in Iceland altogether.

Take Action Now

Please join Species Unite in urging Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir and Iceland’s new government to take decisive action and ban whaling once and for all.