March 1999

The government of Iceland decided that it would begin allowing its citizens to hunt for whales again.  In doing so, the government has opened itself up to a great amount of criticism and potential violence.

Voting 37-7 in favor of ending the 10-year ban on whaling, Iceland's Parliament will allow whaling to begin again "as soon as possible."

Map of Iceland.  Image Credit: CIA.

"As representatives of a democratic nation, the Icelandic government must now act on the will of parliament and allow whaling to resume this summer," said Sveinn Gudmundsson, who represents whalers from several countries in the area.

Iceland is no longer part of either the International Whaling Commission or the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.  As a result, it is not officially prohibited from hunting whales.

However, not everyone agreed with the action.  "Any whaling activities by Iceland will be illegal," said Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

The group is based in the United States and opposes the hunting of marine animals, especially whales.

"The decision by Iceland means that the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society must deploy our large vessel the Sea Shepherd III to Iceland," continued Watson.  After an international agreement to end whaling in 1986, the Sea Shepherds sunk half of Iceland's whaling fleet and destroyed the country's whale processing plant, but was not prosecuted.