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Facts About Whaling and Why It Must Stop

Whales are some of the largest animals on our planet, with the strongest and deepest voices. Some annually migrate from the tropics to the poles, some sing elaborate songs, and many live in close, complex societies. 

Thanks to the International Whaling Commission (IWC)’s 1982 global moratorium on commercial whaling, tens of thousands of whales have been spared from slaughter. But tragically, three countries—Japan, Iceland, and Norway—continue to hunt and kill whales commercially, defying international conservation efforts.

Through global advocacy, policy collaboration, and grassroots campaigns, especially in Iceland, we aim to:

  • Support local campaigners fighting for a national ban on whale hunting

  • Educate tourists to avoid whale meat while traveling

  • Maintain the IWC’s whaling moratorium and push for stronger protections

We also partner with the IWC and marine experts to address additional threats to whales, such as:

  • Deadly fishing gear entanglement

  • Marine plastic pollution

  • Ocean noise pollution

  • Climate change impacts

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Key Whaling Facts

Whaling

Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert/Alamy

Whaling is inhumane

There is no humane way to kill whales at sea. Whalers use explosive-tipped harpoons, fired from moving ships at moving, submerged targets.  Many whales do not die instantly—some endure prolonged suffering, taking over an hour to die after multiple harpoon strikes. Even when harpoons detonate inside the whale’s body, causing catastrophic internal injuries, some whales break free, only to die slowly and agonizingly in the ocean.

This brutal practice is unnecessary in a world where eco-tourism, responsible fishing, and ocean conservation offer sustainable alternatives.

Japanese whaling ship killing whales during hunt

Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert/Alamy Stock Photo

Outside the law

Japan’s decision late in 2018 to overtly resume commercial whaling (abandoning its claim that its whaling was for research) and to leave the International Whaling Commission, which maintains its ban on such activities, makes it a "pirate" whaling nation, acting outside of international law.

Dolphins being captured for entertainment or meat

mgokalp/iStock.com

Slaughter at Taiji and the Faroes

Japan is also among a small number of countries and territories that also hunt small whales and dolphins. Japan’s dolphin hunt in the town of Taiji has become infamous because of its cruelty and links to the captivity industry. Similarly, the Faroe Islands’ annual drive hunts kill entire schools of small whales and dolphins, including hundreds of pilot whales, for their meat each summer.

A fin whale mom with swimming with their calf

Photo by Christin Khan, NEFSC/NOAA

Populations at risk

Whaling is unsustainable—they are long-living, slow to reproduce, and difficult and expensive to monitor. While the global moratorium has helped to ensure that many species and populations have not gone extinct, many populations still need recovery and several populations remain in danger of extinction, including the North Atlantic right whales; only 300-400 exist today. At the same time, whales everywhere deal with other human-made challenges such as fisheries bycatch, pollution, ship strikes and climate change.

Whale tail

Edzard

Economic factors

Studies point to overfishing as the likely culprit in fishery declines, not the whales as Japan and its allies like to claim, since commercial fishery species and whale food sources have little overlap. Meanwhile, whale watching, a $2B global industry, attracts 13M+ people annually; when properly managed, it offers a viable, ethical, alternative income source.

Fin whale with seagulls

Elizabeth Tighe-Andino

Vital for oceans

Science now reveals the vital role whales play as "ecosystem engineers"—moving deep sea nutrients into the sunlight where their fecal plumes fertilize the waters and help ecosystem productivity.

Naomi Blinick/Marine Photobank

Killing continues in Iceland despite low local appetite

Most people in Iceland don't eat whale meat. In fact the largest consumers of whale meat in Iceland are foreign tourists from countries such as the United States, China, United Kingdom and Germany who mistakenly think they are engaging in "cultural" consumption.

Whales are worth far more alive than dead and are critically important for healthy, productive oceans.

Dr. Madison Miketa, Humane World for Animals

Help protect wildlife and keep all animals safe

By making a donation today, you can help Humane World for Animals International combat the wildlife trade around the world