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Gray whale

UN adopts High Seas Treaty to protect the ocean

At the UN 'High Seas Treaty' negotiations in New York, a historic vote for the...

Hopes raised for whale and dolphin protection after last minute landmark nature agreement

WDC's Ed Goodall (far right) at COP15 with Thérèse Coffey (centre) UK Secretary of State...

WDC orca champion picks up award

Beatrice Whishart MSP picks up her Nature Champion award The Scottish Environment LINK, an organisation...

Large number of dolphins moved to Abu Dhabi marine park

Up to 24 captive bottlenose dolphins have reportedly been sent to a new SeaWorld theme...

Political parties in Iceland question true value of whale hunt industry

Opposition parties in Iceland are asking the government’s minister of foreign affairs, Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson, to look into the wider diplomatic and economic damage caused by the country’s whaling industry. MPs have requested answers to whether the negative economic and diplomatic consequences outweigh any economic grain from the hunts.

The request for the government report comes at a time of sensitive diplomatic relations between US and Iceland. Previously, US president, Barack Obama has announced his intention to put more diplomatic pressure on Iceland over its decision to resume commercial whaling.  Icelandic opposition MPs are now asking what effect whaling has specifically had on relations between the US and Iceland, and why no senior US government official has visited Iceland since Condoleezza Rice came to the country back in 2008.  In 2014 Iceland was not invited to attend an international conference on the Oceans organized by the US State Department. The reasons given at the time were reportedly linked to Iceland’s commercial whaling and export of whale products.