Take Action: Stop Icelandic Whaling
Feb 11, 2011
Iceland’s whaling activities have recently increased despite global bans on whaling and trade of whale meat and products. In 2010 alone, 148 endangered fin whales and 60 minke whales were slaughtered by Icelandic whalers and more than 750 tons of whale meat and products were exported to Japan.
Because of this, on behalf of the Whales Need US coalition, WSPA and several other groups recently petitioned the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of the Interior to impose trade sanctions against Iceland.
Now we need your help! Please politely urge the Secretaries to protect whales by stopping Iceland’s defiant whaling program.
The Inhumane Slaughter of Whales
Even “modern” whaling methods give rise to serious animal welfare concerns. There is no humane way to kill whales at sea and even well-aimed exploding harpoons are not always fatal – meaning that the hunts often involve prolonged and intense suffering.The slaughter of whales is inhumane and unnecessary, and needs to end.
Help End a Defiant Whaling Program
According to both the 1971 Pelly Amendment to the Fisherman's Protective Act and 1979 Packwood-Magnuson Amendment to the Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce and U.S. Secretary of the Interior can formally identify – or “certify” – a country if it is “diminishing the effectiveness” of global conservation treaties. Once certified, the President can impose trade sanctions or prohibit imports of the certified country’s products.
Iceland is “diminishing the effectiveness” of global conservation agreements that prohibit commercial whaling or trade of whale-related products, such as the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW), the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and the International Whaling Commission’s (IWC) ban on whaling.
Tell the U.S. Secretary of Commerce and U.S. Secretary of the Interior to take the necessary steps to certify Iceland under the Pelly Amendment so that President Obama has the right to impose trade sanctions and help put an end to these defiant whaling activities.
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