Over 1,000 Whales Are Still Brutally Slaughtered Each Year

Iceland's annual whale hunt may have been put on hold until the end of August, but over a thousand whales are still expected to be hunted and killed internationally this year.

Svandís Svavarsdóttir, the Icelandic Minister of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, announced the pause after a report from the Food and Veterinary Authority found the hunt does not comply with the country's Animal Welfare Act, as the time it takes to kill a whale violates the country's laws, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

"This activity cannot continue in the future if the authorities and the license holders cannot ensure the fulfilment of the welfare requirements," Svavarsdóttir said in a statement. "I have decided to suspend all whaling operations."

Iceland is one of the few countries that still actively hunts whales, alongside Japan and Norway, despite an international ban that was put in place in 1986. Whaling is allowed for aboriginal communities in Denmark (Faroe Islands and Greenland), Russia (Siberia), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (Bequia Island), and the United States (Alaska). Some countries continue to hunt the animals under the guise of "scientific whaling."

Using data by the International Whaling Commission (IWC), Statista graphics show that before the ban, around 6,000 to 7,000 whales were killed each year.

In 2021, 1,284 whales were killed worldwide, 881 of which were for commercial purposes. The remainder were hunted under "special permits" that include scientific research, and by aboriginal communities. In 2020, 1,204 were killed, 810 commercially.

A further 300,000 whales, dolphins, and porpoises are killed each year across the globe as bycatch in fisheries.

The methods used by the whale hunters are considered by many to be inhumane. Hunters sometimes fire explosive harpoons into whales, which then detonate. This method doesn't always kill the whale instantaneously, with multiple shots often being needed to subdue the animal, according to a 2006 report on Norway's whale hunting practices. In addition, some whales are killed by drowning, with their heads being kept underneath the water as they are winched aboard whaling ships.

"The hunts are not just cruel (many whales are left in agony for hours after being shot with grenade-tipped harpoons), but they are also pointless," Danny Groves, a spokesperson for Whale and Dolphin Conservation, told Newsweek. "We are hopeful that Iceland's new stance is the beginning of a new relationship between these nations and whales. We need to grow whale populations to keep the ocean healthy and to fight climate breakdown."

In Taiji, Japan, and the Faroe Islands, the most brutal of hunts occur, with dolphins and small whales being driven onto beaches or into coves, and being slaughtered in the shallows in droves.

"The spinal lance, designed by a Faroese veterinarian, was introduced in 2015 and is now required equipment for the killing of pilot whales," a spokesperson for the Faroese government previously told Newsweek. "The lance is used to sever the spinal cord of the whale, which also severs the major blood supply to the brain, ensuring both loss of consciousness and death of the animal within seconds."

Whale hunting in the 1800s and 1900s resulted in several million whales being hunted for their oil, spermaceti (waxy substances in the head of a sperm whale), ambergris (often called whale vomit, found in the digestive tract), and baleen (bone-like filters used by the whales to feed), with an estimated 3 million whales being killed in the 20th century alone.

These waxy bounties would be used to make soaps and candles, while the whale oil was used as burning oil, and the baleen was used in whale-bones corsets. Now, whales are hunted primarily for their meat, as well as their oil, blubber, and cartilage, which are used in pharmaceuticals and health supplements, primarily in Japan, with some claiming that whale products can stave off dementia.

According to Whale and Dolphin Conservation, nearly 40,000 large whales have been killed since 1986 by Japan, Norway and Iceland, with over 100,000 dolphins, small whales, and porpoises being killed in various countries across the world each year.

Japan alone kills between 300 and 600 whales each year, the majority of which are Bryde's whales, minke whales and sei whales, Statista shows. In Iceland, fin whales are hunted for export to Japan, while minke whales are hunted for meat. Norway also hunts mainly minke whales, also for their meat, as well as fin and sei whales for export to Japan.

Sei whales are listed as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, while fin whales are listed as vulnerable.

"There is little demand for the meat in any of those countries and much is stockpiled in freezer facilities. Huge government subsidies are pumped into keeping it going," Groves said.

Iceland's whaling season runs from mid-June to mid-September. The pause on whaling this summer is a further step towards reducing whaling in the country. Iceland has only one remaining whaling company—Hvalur—and announced last February that it would stop its commercial whaling practices by 2024.

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Update 06/23/2023 12.08 p.m. ET: This story was updated with additional information.