Iceland issues new whaling permit, draws animal welfare rebuke

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Iceland has issued a new licence to its sole remaining whaling company, enabling it to continue hunting this season, the government said on Tuesday, drawing a sharp response from campaigners seeking to protect the animals.

Hvalur hf will be permitted to hunt 99 fin whales in the Greenland and West Iceland region and another 29 in the East Iceland and Faroe Islands region this year, the fisheries ministry said in a statement.

Whaling in Iceland has sparked protests for years from animal welfare campaigners and Hollywood celebrities, including Leonardo DiCaprio.

"The decision is based on a precautionary approach and reflects the government's increased emphasis on the sustainable use of resources," the ministry said in a statement.

The whaling season in Iceland lasts from mid-June to late September, with the majority of the whale meat sold to Japan.

Reuters was not immediately able to reach Hvalur hf for comment.

"It's ridiculous that in 2024 we're talking about target lists for the second-largest animal on Earth, for products that nobody needs," International Fund for Animal Welfare director Patrick Ramage told Reuters.

Last year, the Icelandic government temporarily suspended hunting for two months after the country's Food and Veterinary Authority reported that the whales' killing time exceeded the limit set by local animal welfare laws.

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

Despite an international moratorium implemented in 1986 to protect the species from extinction, Norway resumed commercial whaling in 1993 and Iceland in 2006.

Japan withdrew from the international body in 2019 and resumed commercial whaling in its territorial waters and exclusive economic zone.

The moratorium allows indigenous peoples in certain parts of the world, like Greenland and Alaska, to hunt whales as whale products play a vital role in their nutritional and cultural life.

(Reporting by Stine Jacobsen, editing by Louise Rasmussen and Susan Fenton)