As Iceland Calls Off Fin Whale Slaughter, Japan and Norway Launch Cruel, Unsustainable Whale Hunting Seasons Niki Fri, 04/25/2025 - 15:38 Photo by iStock April 25, 2025 Washington, DC—Japan and Norway resumed slaughtering whales this month, while Iceland’s only fin whaling company has decided that it will not hunt this summer, citing a declining demand for whale meat products in Japan.Japan killed the first fin whale of the 2025 season today, after launching its whaling season on April 1. Kyodo Senpaku, Japan’s only factory ship whaling company, is expected to kill up to 56 sei whales, 153 Bryde’s whales and 60 fin whales (a threatened species that is the second largest animal on the planet). In addition, five small coastal whaling boats will kill up to 144 minke whales.Norway also launched its whaling season on April 1; two days later, the first minke whale was killed by Reinebuen, a ship linked to Lofothval, a company partly owned by Icelandic whaler Kristján Loftsson. Although Norway’s quota allows up to 1,406 minke whales to be killed by 14 registered whaling vessels this season, fewer are expected to be taken due to plummeting demand for whale meat in Norway. A 2024 analysis revealed the presence of contaminants in Norwegian whale meat that can lead to a range of harmful effects and health issues, including developmental problems, endocrine dysfunction, cancer, and kidney disease.Iceland was scheduled to begin its fin whaling season in June, with as many as 209 fin whales permitted to be killed in 2025. Earlier this month, however, Loftsson announced that for the second consecutive year, his company, Hvalur hf., will not hunt fin whales due to global economic conditions that make it unprofitable. Meanwhile, a smaller Icelandic company, Tjaldtangi ehf., is still poised to hunt up to 217 minke whales. If it proceeds, it will be the first time that minke whaling has occurred in Icelandic waters since 2021.Norway, Japan, and Iceland are the only countries that still permit commercial whaling in defiance of a four-decades-long ban implemented by the IWC. The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) has long condemned commercial whaling as inherently cruel, unsustainable, and impossible to regulate, and continues to call for an end to the unprofitable and unnecessary whaling industry.“The whaling industrial complex is a sinking ship,” said Sue Fisher, senior policy advisor for AWI’s Marine Wildlife Program. “Although the government of Japan is prepared, for now, to continue propping up its own whalers, it no longer appears willing to also keep Iceland’s whaling industry afloat by subsidizing Kyodo Senpaku's purchase of Hvalur's meat.”“Hvalur had been hoping that its recent marketing efforts in Japan would boost consumer interest there, making it worthwhile for the company to go whaling this year,” Fisher added. “But Kyodo Senpaku simply cannot afford to buy Icelandic whale meat without financial support from Japan’s government.”In Japan and Norway, the market for whale meat is so low that stockpiles of unwanted whale meat have been repurposed for pet food. Whalers in Norway have even resorted to removing only the most valuable cuts of meat from carcasses and discarding the rest at sea.Yet taxpayers in these countries continue to bankroll government-sponsored marketing efforts to encourage whale meat consumption through whale burgers and tacos, whale meat vending machines, and a distribution system to make these products available in both local markets and national supermarket chains. Media Contact Information Marjorie Fishman, Animal Welfare Institutemargie@awionline.org, (202) 446-2128 The Animal Welfare Institute (awionline.org) is a nonprofit charitable organization founded in 1951 and dedicated to alleviating animal suffering caused by people. We seek to improve the welfare of animals everywhere: in agriculture, in commerce, in our homes and communities, in research, and in the wild. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, and LinkedIn for updates and other important animal protection news.