As the world faces the pandemic, Norwegian whalers set sail to slaughter whales. The government authorizes the hunting of 1300 specimens
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves himThere is no peace for the whales, not even during an emergency coronavirus. In Norway the hunt has started again. The Norwegian whalers in fact from Wednesday 1 April have started the sad slaughter involving the whale of Minke.
Also known as minke or minke whale, this species is one of the smallest and most common of the Balaenopteridae family. While the world has come to a standstill and billions of people have been living in self-isolation for weeks, it seems the coronavirus is failing to hold back Norway's whalers.
The hunting season began on Wednesday 1st April. The quota authorized by the Norwegian government for this hunting season is 1278 balene Minke and up to 10 ships could take part. Unfortunately, Minke's first whale was killed only hours after one of them, the “M / S Reinebuen”, left the port.
In spite of the concerns related to the pandemic, the Norwegian authorities propose to change the regulations concerning those who can obtain a whaling license, weakening the restrictions. Consultations on who can hunt whales normally last several months, but current proposals could take them to as little as three weeks. This way more ships could join those already in action:
"It is possible that at least three other ships are already waiting for their departure, benefiting from the flexibility of the process if adopted" have denounced the associations Whale and Dolphin Conservation and C'est Assesz.
For decades, the Norwegian government has subsidized the whaling industry and strongly encouraged the consumption of whale meat. However, according to C'est Asz, the drop in demand
“Has forced the industry to be more creative in its attempts to generate new interest in whale meat in key sectors of the population. Huge government grants have been made to promote whale meat at festivals or schools. Other strategies include trying to get rid of excess whale meat by donating it to the homeless, but all of these attempts have had mixed results and whale consumption trends have remained low. "
©The animal Fund
©M/S Rainbow
Norway has killed 2014 Minke whales since 2.902:
- 2014 - 736 Minke whales
- 2015 - 660 Minke whales
- 2016 - 591 Minke whales
- 2017 - 32 balene Minke
- 2018 - 454 Minke whales
- 2019 - 429 Minke whales
If you consider the global figure, nearly 3 million died at the hands of man in the 20th century, driving populations to the limit.
Norway resumed commercial whaling in 1993. In 2002 it also resumed exports of whale products mainly to Japan, exports however prohibited by the International Convention on Endangered Species. In 2018, the country even increased the share of whales that can be harpooned in its territorial waters.
And today not even the coronavirus has managed to stop the hunters and the Norwegian government.
Sources of reference: cestassez, Whale and Dolphin Conservation
READ also:
Whaling in Norway: no mercy even for pregnant females (PETITION)
Whaling: Iceland wants to kill over two thousand
