Hvalavinir's intervention on Whale Killing Methods at IWC70
On September 30th Hvalavinir- Whale Friends adressed the IWC70 meeting in Hobart on behalf of 20 present NGOs, here is the full speech:
Thank you, Chair.
I’d like to begin by acknowledging the Traditional Owners of the land on which we meet today – Nipaluna land. I pay my respects to Elders past and present.
It´s the first time I take the floor and I would like to express thanks to the Government of Australia and the Secretariat for hosting the 70th IWC meeting and we are honoured to be here.
I am from Hvalavinir - Whale friends in Iceland as the first Icelandic NGO as accredited observer. I am making this statement on behalf of 20 NGO observers, whose names will be provided to the Secretariat.
Serious animal welfare concerns remain in commercial whaling in both Iceland and Norway.
In Iceland, official monitoring of the 2022 fin whale hunt found that only 59% of monitored whales were killed instantaneously. Among whales not killed immediately, the median time to death was 11.5 minutes. Some whales were shot repeatedly, and two whales took approximately one and two hours to die.
Following this monitoring, Iceland’s Expert Council on Animal Welfare concluded that the methods used to hunt large whales were not compatible with Iceland’s Animal Welfare Act.
Despite subsequent changes to hunting regulations, serious welfare concerns remain. Official monitoring records from 35 fin whale hunts in 2026 show that multiple harpoons were fired in 12 cases. Among the clearly non-instantaneous deaths for which a time to death could be quantified, the median time to death was approximately 10.5 minutes and the mean approximately 14 minutes. One whale took 31 minutes to die after being struck four times. In another case, five harpoons were fired over 38 minutes; three appear to have struck the whale. One additional whale was struck but lost and was never seen again.
In Norway, the most recent animal-welfare data submitted to this working group, covering 2011–2012, found that 18% of minke whales were not killed instantaneously. Yet current reports provide no comparable contemporary data. Following the removal of the Blue Box monitoring system in 2023,there appears to have been no independent at-sea monitoring of Norwegian commercial whaling for at least three seasons.
As noted in the report of the Whale Killing Methods and Welfare Issues Working Group, an independent expert assessment of video footage that captured 16 individual minke whale kills in 2026 found an average time to death of 3 minutes and 51 seconds, with an instantaneous death rate of only 25 percent. In nearly 70 percent of the remaining hunts, whales required a rifle shot after harpooning, which demonstrates the inefficacy of the harpoon in a majority of cases.
Whales are large, wild, free-swimming animals killed at sea from moving vessels. The evidence demonstrates the inherent difficulty of ensuring an instantaneous death under these conditions. Neither Iceland nor Norway has demonstrated that commercial whaling can be conducted without prolonged suffering.
Both countries have also repeatedly failed to provide sufficient, current and independently verifiable data in line with Resolution (1999-1). In the absence of evidence that these fundamental welfare problems can be overcome, we believe the humane course is clear: commercial whaling should end.
Thank you, Chair.
Hvalavinir- Whale Friends Ocean Protection
Whale and Dolphin Conservation
Whaleman Foundation
Brazilian Humpback Whale Institute - Instituto Baleia Jubarte
Pro Wildlife
Humane World for Animals
Cetacean Society International
Animal Welfare Institute
OceanCare
Centro de Conservación Cetacea
Instituto de Conservación de Ballenas
Environmental Investigation Agency
Fundación Cethus
Oceanic Preservation Society
LegaSeas
American Cetacean Society
One Ocean Planet
IFAW - International Fund for Animal Welfare
Dolphin Connection
Hard to Port - Marine Conservation
Endangered Species Protection Agency
Greenpeace International
