Why This Petition Matters – Started by Hvalavinir: Stop whaling in Iceland.
We demand that Iceland’s government bans whaling once and for all.
Whales have taken as long as two hours to die during Icelandic hunts, according to a report by the Icelandic food and veterinary authority.
Last year, animal welfare officers were on board the hunting vessel from whaling company Hvalur ehf. and documented and filmed 58 of the 148 fin whales that were killed that season.
36 whales (24%) were shot more than once with explosive harpoons. Of these, five whales were shot three times and four whales were shot four times.
To put this in perspective it takes about 8 minutes to reload the harpoon that then needs to hit a fast moving animal in the ocean more than once if it fails to kill.
One whale with a spear in its back was chased for 5 hours without success.
The median time from the first shot to the death of the whales that did not die immediately was 11.5 minutes, and the agonising slow deaths lasted up to two hours.
Three whales were shot but could not be caught and have fought long excruciating deaths.
Horrific treatment of animals in this way is unacceptable.
We demand a revocation of the whaling license and that these brutal killings be stopped and banned once and for all.