We all know whaling is cruel and despite bans on commercial whaling and the trade in whale products accepted by most countries, Japan, Norway and Iceland kill 2000 whales between them each year and also continue to trade whale products.

In 1986 the International Whaling Commission banned commercial whaling as the number of whales being killed were putting their populations under threat. We can’t be certain that whale populations can survive large-scale hunting as well as the other daily threats they face. There is no humane way to kill a whale at sea. The hunting process can never be an exact exercise – whales are a moving target, shot at from a moving vessel which sits on a moving sea. Grenade harpoons are often used to kill whales subjecting them to a long, slow and painful death.