Iceland moved toward ending whaling yesterday with the announcement it was scaling its 'scientific' hunt back from 250 whales a year to 25.
"This is a major step in the right direction," said Willie Mackenzie from Greenpeace UK "the government of Iceland should realise that whales are worth more to them alive than dead, and cancel the rest of the hunt."
The Icelandic tourist association and whale watching operators have made it clear to their government that a resumption of whaling would seriously damage the country's reputation and result in a decrease in tourist numbers. Tourism has become one of the major sources of income in Iceland in recent years and whale watching attracts around 72,000 tourists yearly and is worth more than $14.6 million USD a year to the Icelandic economy.
The market for whale meat in Iceland is small and decreasing due to both changed eating habits and revelations about the level of environmental toxins in whale products. This is evidenced by the fact that Iceland still has over half the whale meat from last year's hunt in cold storage, with no future market in sight.
"There is no scientific basis for killing whales to study them," said Willie Mackenzie, "To call this science is an insult to the thousands of scientists who study whales without killing them."
He added, "Whales are worth more to Iceland alive than dead. Whaling brings Iceland no money, answers no scientific questions and damages its tourism industry. It should stop now."
Further information
For more information contact the Greenpeace press office on 020 7865 8255
