Iceland to submit bill for permanent ban on commercial whaling

Reykjavik, Iceland. Iceland’s government said it will submit a bill in February to permanently ban whaling, a move that could leave Norway and Japan as the only countries continuing commercial whaling.

The government, which holds a parliamentary majority, said the proposed legislation would include a permanent ban on whaling.

Hunting season and quotas

Whaling in Iceland has prompted years of protests by animal welfare campaigners and Hollywood celebrities.

During this year’s hunting season, which runs from June to around the end of September, 80 fin whales had been caught by September 9, according to Humane World for Animals, which monitors catches. The quota permits the killing of up to 150 fin whales this year.

Fin whales, the main target of Iceland’s whaling industry, are classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Political support

“There is considerable political and public support for this bill to ban commercial whaling, and compelling ethical, veterinary, legal and conservation reasons to hope it succeeds,” said Wendy Higgins, a spokeswoman for Humane World for Animals.

In 2024, Iceland’s interim government issued a five-year licence to the country’s sole remaining whaling company.

Commercial whaling worldwide

Only Iceland, Norway and Japan have conducted commercial whaling in recent years, according to the International Whaling Commission’s catch list.

Norway resumed commercial whaling in 1993 and Iceland in 2006, despite an international moratorium introduced in 1986 to protect whale populations.

Japan withdrew from the International Whaling Commission in 2019 and resumed commercial whaling in its territorial waters and exclusive economic zone.