Whale meat that was to be shipped by Samskip from Iceland to Asia via Hamburg is being sent back to Iceland, RÚV reports.
Shipping containers carrying Icelandic whale meat arrived in Hamburg over the weekend, and members of Greenpeace tipped off customs officials to the contents of the shipment. Whale products are illegal to transport through Germany, but the paperwork for the produce was above board and the port officials gave the go ahead for the shipment to continue on to its final destination in Asia. However, by that time the ship meant to transport the whale had already sailed.
Now Evergreen Line is returning the whale meat back to Iceland on Samskip’s behalf and Samskip has said that they will stop transporting whale meat to Europe. Previously an online petition succeeded in pressuring the Dutch government to refuse to accept ships carrying whale meat at the country’s ports, making it all but impossible to transport whale meat through Europe.
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