The Killing of Endangered Fin Whales by Kristján Loftsson is a Violation of the Icelandic Animal Welfare Act.
23 DAYS BEFORE DEPARTURE
MAST (Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority) has compiled a report regarding the monitoring of the 148 whales killed by Loftsson in 2022.
The government inspectors observed only 58 of the 148 whales killed. Of the 148 whales that were murdered, 36 (24%) were harpooned more than once. Of these five whales shot three times and four of the whales were shot four times. One whale with a harpoon in it’s back was chased for 5 hours without success.
MAST reported that 35 (59%) of these whales died instantly according to the International Whaling Commission (IWC) definition of when a whale is considered dead. Five whales that exhibited convulsions were considered to have lost consciousness quickly. Killing one whale took almost an hour and another took two hours. Three whales were harpooned and escaped and most likely died later. Although only 58 kills were observed and 41% did not die immediately and suffered, MAST concluded that the Animal Welfare Act was not violated.
I wonder how much Loftsson paid for that report.
When is a situation not a violation of the Animal Welfare Act despite observed prolonged suffering before death, despite being struck and lost, despite multiple harpoon strikes?
The answer is when the authorities simply slap the criminal on the wrist with a meaningless warning.
Loftsson’s whaling operations are a violation of the IWC Global Moratorium on commercial whaling and a violation of Icelandic Animal Welfare laws.
This is the criminal operation that we must shut down this summer.