A British archaeologist comes down hard on Icelandic whaling in the Morning Star online edition on Sunday, describing whaler Kristján Loftsson as a ‘selfish butcher’ who doesn’t care about world opinion or whether the animals ‘suffer a cruel and bloody death’ to earn him profits.
Peter Frost‘s article, titled ‘Shame on you, Iceland’, describes how the fin whale is now endangered species after heavy hunting in the last century. However, the Icelandic whaling fleet, led by Loftsson, is planning on hunting up to 200 fin whales this summer.
Mercy for the whales is obviously close to Frost’s heart and he describes how the whales are brutally killed with explosive harpoons that ‘literally blow their brains out.’ He also expresses deep disappointment and disgust in the Netherlands’ decision to allow whale meat being transhipped through Rotterdam on its way to Japan and states that since Holland is signatory to the International Convention to Regulate Whaling, it should help stopping global trade of whale meat rather than enable it. In fact, Frost suggests that banning whaling ships and whale meat trade in the Netherlands could lead to a stop on whaling in the EU for good.
With whale watching an ever-growing aspect of the tourism industry in Iceland, Frost points out that the Iceland Tourist Board has realised that live whales are much more valuable than the sale of whale meat to Japan and so has demanded Loftsson ‘stop the slaughter.’
He concludes by encouraging readers to sign an online petition to the Dutch PM, contact the embassy of Netherlands in London and/or protest directly to the Icelandic authorities.
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