Britain urged to help save whales from slaughter
ENVIRONMENT Secretary Michael Gove is facing calls to demand an end to the slaughter of whales as he visits the Faroe Islands today to strike a post-Brexit fishing deal.
In the past two months nearly 900 pilot whales and 23 dolphins have been killed in the bays of the islands that lie between Shetland and Iceland, said pressure group Campaign Whale.
The whales are driven into fjords in family groups and then hacked to death, turning the sea red with blood.
Campaign Whale said that on average about 800 whales a year are killed in the Faroes.
Although commercial whaling was banned in 1986 by the International Whaling Commission, Faroese whale hunters are controlled by their own government but not the IWC, which does not regulate the catching of small aquatic mammals such as pilot whales and dolphins.
Meanwhile Iceland and Norway also kill nearly 800 whales between them each year despite the ban.
But Mr Gove will have to strike fisheries deals with the Faroes, Iceland and Norway ready to take effect when Britain leaves the EU.
In May, the Faroes government described Britain as “one of the most important markets for Faroese seafood exports”.
A minister said at the time: “A new trade agreement with the UK to ensure future exports is therefore a priority of the Faroese government.”
Andy Ottaway, of Campaign Whale, said: “The Faroes, along with Norway and Iceland, are defiant whaling nations with whom the UK will have to negotiate fishing post-Brexit.
“All these countries export fish to the UK and this is a great opportunity to tell them that whaling is outdated, horrendously cruel and unnecessary and that we are not prepared to do business with whalers.
“If we won’t stop fish imports from these countries we could at least refuse to trade with companies, boats and people involved in whaling.
“It’s time that Britain made a stand for our whales and told these countries we will no longer do business with whalers.”
A spokeswoman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said the UK strongly opposes whaling other than some limited activities by indigenous people for clearly defined subsistence needs.
She stressed that the UK has committed to raise opposition to whaling with the relevant nations at every appropriate opportunity.
A Defra spokesman added: “The UK has a strong track record in championing the protection and welfare of whales and we will continue to raise our opposition to whaling at every appropriate opportunity.” quotas and trade