We already reported on this at the beginning of May. While Iceland's whaling receives considerable media attention, hunting in Norway continues almost unnoticed. In total, 17,767 whales, mostly minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), have been killed under Norwegian whaling policy since the IWC moratorium took effect in 1986. Norway is continuing undeterred in 2026. For this season, the government has set a quota of 1,641 animals. The maximum catch quotas of previous years have not yet been reached, but this approach demonstrates the resolve not to be deterred. Thus, the killing continues. The whales suffer a slow death.
Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) has analysed that the immediate death of the whales cannot be guaranteed. Data evaluated by Norway itself showed that approximately 18% of the whales did not die immediately after the first harpoon strike. The average time to death was six minutes, with individual animals taking 20–25 minutes to die. This hunt and the agonizing death of a minke whale is documented in a distressing video:
Furthermore, between 2021 and 2025, 68 to 79 per cent of the whales killed were female, and 41 to 62 per cent of these were pregnant. Consequently, more individuals are removed from the species than the raw number of adult whales indicates.
We call on Norway and Iceland to finally end commercial whaling.
And we encourage you to sign this petition: https://endcommercialwhaling.org
