Iceland 2005 whale hunt ends

The Icelandic Marine Resources Institute (Hafro) is reporting that the 2005 whaling season has closed, with the last whale being killed on the morning of 17th August.

Iceland continues to hunt whales, despite the international moratorium on commercial whaling, by exploiting a loop hole in the international convention that regulates these activities (the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling).

Every year Iceland issues a permit for so called scientific research, which allows the killing of a certain number of minke whales. The 2005 season began on 4th July. When the season closed last Wednesday, a total of 39 whales had been killed by Icelandic whalers. Reports suggest that Icelandic whalers plan to kill 100 whales next year.

Iceland’s persistence with its ‘Scientific Whaling’ hunt comes after much public opposition to these hunt and after the International Whaling Commission (IWC) passed a resolution in June rejecting Japan