Despite the global outcry and a ban on whaling since 1986, Iceland, like Japan, continues to kill whales using cruel methods, claiming it must slaughter these majestic creatures in the name of science. But scientists have long agreed that there’s no need to kill whales in order to study them. Even worse, whale meat has been proven to contain dangerously high levels of mercury, even though it is sold in supermarkets, restaurants and even school cafeterias in Japan.
The U.N. Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) bans the international trade of all great whale species. Iceland was a member of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) when the ban on commercial whaling went into effect in 1986.
The return to commercial whaling is a flagrant disregard for international agreements to protect whales.
You can take action by sending a letter to members of the Icelandic Embassy telling them to call off their first commercial whale hunt in twenty years.
