Response to MAST Report on Monitoring of Whaling in 2022

In August 2022, Iceland‘s Minister of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, Ms. Svandís Svavarsdóttir, issued a regulation requiring the Food and Veterinary Authority (MAST) to carry out regular inspections of whaling hunts. The purpose of the inspection was to promote improved animal welfare during whaling.

"This alarming report underscores the need for a discussion in Iceland about the values we want to be known for. I believe that industries incapable of guaranteeing animal welfare should be considered part of our past rather than our future. This report, along with the expert council on animal welfare's findings, will serve as essential background material for making decisions about the future of whaling post 2023,“ says Svandís Svavarsdótir, Minister of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries.

According to the law, those who hunt are obliged to do so in such a way that it causes the least possible pain to the animals and that their killing takes the shortest possible time. Their duty is to respond to the inspection report and ensure that animal welfare is taken care of during the hunt, and that responsibility is unequivocal now that the result is known.

The agency's conclusion in the report based on the data collected during the inspection is that an unacceptably high percentage of hunted whales suffered during killing.

MAST has therefore concluded that the hunting of large whales does not comply with the objectives of the law on animal welfare and raises questions about the future of the activity. The Food and Veterinary Authority now entrusts the expert council on animal welfare to review the available data and assess whether hunting large whales can meet the objectives of the law on animal welfare.

For specific questions on the report or its findings, please contact the Food and Veterinary Authority of Iceland.

Full report (in Icelandic)