A whale skeleton on display at the whale museum in Húsavík, Northern Iceland

The Guardian reports that the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) has warned Brits that whale meat brought in from Iceland is not welcome in the UK. Import of such meat breaches international laws on the protection of endangered species; the offence attracts a fine of up to £5,000 and violates CITES (the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species).

The sudden warning from the FCO comes after the authority was alerted to the fact that whale meat has gone on sale in Keflavík airport, the main international airport in Iceland and the country’s gateway to the rest of Europe and the US. The government reports that so far no meat has been seized and no such meat has been found on sale in the UK.

Whaling remains a contentious issue in Iceland and Icelanders have varying opinions on the subject. The issue has been a source of tension between Iceland and its neighbouring countries, as has Iceland’s treatment of other marine species such as mackerel. The British government recently said it would not refrain from resorting to sanctions against Iceland and the Faroe Islands if the two nations continued to fish mackerel in such high volume.

Earlier this year The Guardian reported that Icelandic whalers were resorting to “cultural tourism” to try and persuade foreigners around to their position on whaling. Amongst the experiences on offer were whale-watching, a chance to see harpoons being fired and the opportunity to sample some whale meat. Tourists would not actually see a whale being killed on such a tour.

Source: The Guardian

Labels: Whaling