Iceland Kills 25 Whales for 'Scientific Whaling' 7/8/2004
From: Kerry Branon, 508-744-2068, kbranon@ifaw.org or Andreas Dinkelmeyer, 49 (0) 173 62275 39 (Germany), adinkelmeyer@ifaw.org Web: http://www.ifaw.org REYKJAVIK, Iceland, July 8 -- Iceland has met this year's self-imposed quota for "scientific whaling," after killing 25 minke whales around its coast. Since the resumption of whaling in 2003, Iceland has killed 61 whales. "We are happy that Iceland did not follow its original research plans to kill 500 whales in 2003 and 2004. We sincerely hope this signals that whaling will soon come to an end, once and for all," said Della Green, IFAW Marine Campaigner. The whale meat from scientific whaling has been sold in supermarkets, but there is little demand. Of the 35 tons of meat landed last year, 23 tons remain unsold. The hunt ended shortly after IFAW's research and education vessel Song of the Whale arrived in Iceland. IFAW's whale research team is conducting benign research on the largest animal in the world, the blue whale, and other cetacean species in Icelandic waters. The main focus of IFAW's scientific study is to further develop acoustic techniques for listening to whales and to correlate the sounds they make with behavioral observations. Recent polling on public support for whaling in Iceland, conducted by Gallup for IFAW and Greenpeace, shows a decline in public support for the third consecutive poll. Although still high, support has dropped to 67 percent; the first time it has fallen below 70 percent in Iceland. The poll indicates an important shift in opinion, particularly within the younger generation. About IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare) Founded in 1969, IFAW is an international animal welfare and conservation organization that works to protect wild and domestic animals and to broker solutions that benefit both animals and people. With offices in 15 countries around the world, IFAW works to protect whales, elephants, great apes, big cats, dogs and cats, seals and other animals. To learn how to help IFAW protect animals, please visit http://www.ifaw.org |