This petition protests against the massive slaughter of minke whales of Norway. The whaling takes place each year around the Lofoten Islands, especially on the Vestfjord and at the Spitzbergen ( Svalbard ) area.

Year Number of minke whales killed

2013   594
2014   736
2015   660
2016   591
 

We, the undersigned, believe that:

1. The killing of minke whales and the current annual quota of 999 whales is completely unacceptable.
2. Scientific reports have shown that the population of minke whales has been steadily decreasing between 2008 -  2016.
3. Only an average of 1.5 tons of whale meat per carcass is used, the rest is wasted.A minke whale can weigh up to 10 tons.
4. Whaling is cruel and many would regard it as a  crime against a highly intelligent species
5. The whalers have also been known to especially target pregnant females.
6. There are increasing calls from around the globe to designate whales and dolphins (cetaceans) as “non-human persons”.
7. We have personal data evidence of hunts which last up to 333 minutes: we believe that this constitutes severe animal cruelty and abuse!
8. We call for an immediate cessation of the hunting of minke whales of Norway and for an end to all domestic and overseas trade in minke whale meat.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_o5EPEsauo&feature=youtu.be

References

1. Annex D Report of the Sub-Committee on the Revised Management Procedure.      J. CETACEAN RES. MANAGE. 17 (SUPPL.), 2016.                                      file:///C:/Users/owner/Downloads/RS5429_17Supp106_184AnnexD%20(1).pdf

2.Thomas I. White ‘In defense of dolphins’; Brakes P. and Simmonds M. P. ‘Whales      and dolphins: cognition, culture, conservation and human perceptions’.