NORWAY KICKS OFF MINKE HUNT, RAISES QUOTA TO 999 WHALES

[Judi Lynn]

Apr 1, 3:39 PM EDT


COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) -- Norway on Saturday kicked off its annual six-month whale hunting season with whalers allowed to kill an increased quota of 999 minke whales, up from 880 animals in 2016.

The International Whaling Commission imposed a commercial ban on whaling in 1986, but Norway objected. Norwegian officials estimate there are more than 100,000 North Atlantic minke whales - which are not an endangered species - off the long ragged western coast of Norway where the hunt takes place.

Despite the new kill quota, officials say that quota of whales has not been fully taken in recent years because demand is scant for whale meat and the industry has seen its numbers decrease because of retiring whalers. They say Norwegian whalers have killed between 30 and 60 percent of their quota in recent years.

Greenpeace called Norwegian whaling "a dying industry" and said it was wrong of Norway to violate international agreement. A documentary recently aired on Norway's public broadcaster NRK reported that most of the minke whales hunted in Norwegian waters are female and many are pregnant.

More:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_NORWAY_WHALING?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2017-04-01-15-39-55

[Bayard]

1. So, who's eating whale meat?

[Duppers]

2. EXACTLY! And it's a double whammy!

Sounds as if Norway is run by Republican like-assholes...

Their government subsidizes this slaughter and then they feed the whales to animals who have to give up their lives for FUR.


>>>
So few people in Norway want to eat whale meat that it’s ending up in the feed manufactured for animals on fur farms, according to a new document released by the Environmental Investigation Agency, a London-based nonprofit, and the U.S.-based Animal Welfare Institute.

Norway’s government props up the industry heavily, supporting it with fuel tax exemptions and free storage for whale meat, according to a 2009 report from World Wildlife Fund and the Massachusetts-based nonprofit organization Whale and Dolphin Conservation.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/03/160331-norway-minke-whaling-fur-farms/