For the second year in a row, Kristján Loftsson, CEO of the Icelandic whaling company Hvalur, stated that there will likely be no commercial fin whale hunt this summer.
Today the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC), and the Iruka & Kujira [Dolphin & Whale] Action Network (IKAN), expressed dismay at the sale of Icelandic fin whale meat dog treats in Japan. Although the use of Japanese-caught whale and dolphin meat in pet food in Japan has been well-documented, the discovery that Japanese pet food company, Michinoku Farms, is now producing dog snacks using meat from endangered North Atlantic fin whales killed by the Icelandic whaling company, Hvalur hf, is alarming.
Icelandic media are reporting that the Icelandic whaling company Hvalur hf killed an endangered fin whale Monday in defiance of the international ban on commercial whaling. The whale was killed some 150 nautical miles off Iceland’s west coast, and was most likely landed at the company’s whaling station in Hvalfjörður, less than an hour’s drive north of Reykjavik.
Conservation and animal protection organizations are calling on the Japanese government to prove that a shipment of Icelandic whale products that arrived in Ishinomaki, Japan, yesterday does not include illegally imported meat from hybrid blue-fin whales.
Almost two years ago, Iceland’s Hvalur Inc., headed by Kristjan Loftsson, suspended its fin whale hunt. It continued however to export thousands of tons of mainly fin whale products, principally to Japan. In fact, Icelandic whale meat now represents 20 percent of whale meat sales in Japan.
Iceland will again allow fin whaling, beginning Sept. 1, but with stricter requirements, the country’s minister of food, agriculture and fisheries announced today.
Documents obtained by the Washington DC-based Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) show that Norway has begun to play a key role in Iceland's massive exports of whale meat to Japan in defiance of international agreements. Iceland—which has shipped thousands of metric tons of whale products to Japan since resuming commercial whaling in 2006—is now sending shipments of whale meat and blubber to Norway. From there, it is re-exported to Kyodo Senpaku Kaisha Ltd., a company heavily involved in Japan's highly controversial "scientific whaling" program currently underway in the Antarctic Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.
No commercial whaling for fin whales has occurred in Iceland since 2019, and in April 2020, the lone remaining minke whaler announced he was permanently stopping whaling. There have also been no exports of any whale products from Iceland to Japan since 2018. While AWI is cautiously optimistic, we continue to monitor the situation as whaling quotas remain valid through 2023, and the hunts could resume at any time through then.
Members of the “Don’t Buy from Icelandic Whalers” coalition have affirmed that their campaign will continue until Iceland permanently ends commercial whaling and international trading of whale products, despite breaking news that Icelandic whaling company Hvalur hf is suspending its summer hunt of endangered fin whales. The coalition, which encourages supermarket and food service representatives to avoid purchasing seafood from Icelandic companies tied to whaling, will promote its agenda during the upcoming Boston-hosted Seafood Expo North America (SENA) beginning Sunday, March 6.
In July, observers perched on top of the hillside overlooking Iceland’s Hvalur fin whaling station noticed that the large whale being dragged up the slipway looked different.
The number of beef and dairy cattle exported from the U.S. in 2010 to countries other than Canada and Mexico more than quadrupled over the previous year. Live animal exports are up dramatically, especially cattle, as countries like Turkey and Kazakhstan try to establish breeding herds.
Today, the Illinois House Driver's Education and Safety Committee unanimously approved (11-0) legislation that will outlaw the use of double deck trailers for the purpose of hauling horses in the State of Illinois.
Even clean energy can take its toll on animals if caution is thrown to the wind. According to an analysis by Mark Hayes of the University of Colorado, published in the December 2013 issue of the journal BioScience, wind turbines within the contiguous United States killed more than 600,000 bats in 2012—and perhaps as many as 900,000.
Hundreds - perhaps thousands - of our horses are stolen each year. Horse thieves make quick money by unloading illegally obtained horses to killer buyers and slaughterhouses. Slaughterhouses typically kill and process them so quickly that it is almost impossible to trace and recover stolen animals in time to save their lives. Who would imagine their stolen animal was hauled across the border to be slaughtered for meat?
Defying a worldwide ban on trade in whale products, Iceland is openly selling whale meat packaged for export in the departure area at Keflavik airport to travelers who, if they make the purchase, risk stiff penalties on arrival at their home destination for importing an internationally protected species.
On November 14 at the National Wildlife Property Repository in Denver, the US Fish and Wildlife Service pulverized six tons of elephant ivory that had been seized by its agents from smugglers, traders and tourists over the past 25 years.
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) and Cruelty Free International congratulate Illinois for joining California, Nevada, and more than 30 countries worldwide in banning the sale of animal-tested cosmetics. SB 241, sponsored by Senator Linda Holmes (D-Aurora) and signed by Governor J.B. Pritzker on August 9, prohibits the import or sale of any cosmetic if the final product or any ingredient was tested on animals after January 1, 2020.
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) celebrates today’s passage of the Mink Facility Disease Prevention Act (H.B. 2627) in the Public Health Committee of the Illinois House of Representatives. The bill now heads to the full Illinois House for a vote.
This legislation, sponsored by state Rep. Joyce Mason (D-61), would protect public health and human safety by requiring disease prevention and surveillance measures at farms that raise and slaughter mink for their fur. Mink farms in Illinois would be required to obtain a license from the state Department of Public Health and meet commonsense requirements for disease surveillance and containment.
Yesterday State Representative Jim Sacia (R - Freeport) pulled his bill to legalize horse slaughter from the agenda for this legislative session. The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) appreciates his recognition of horse slaughter as a controversial issue and his decision to withdraw it from consideration.
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) commends today’s filing of the Mink Facility Disease Prevention Act, which would end mink farming in Illinois to protect human health.
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) commends today’s filing of the Mink Facility Disease Prevention Act in Illinois, which would protect public health and human safety by requiring disease prevention and surveillance measures at farms that raise and slaughter mink for their fur.
