Whale meat sale prompts in Iceland prompts Foreign Office warning

The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) and the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) revealed recently that Iceland is openly selling whale meat packaged for export in the departure area at Keflavik airport to travellers who, if they make the purchase, are risking arrest for importing an internationally protected species.

Illegal in USA
Representatives from WDCS and AWI, who were travelling to the US, caught store staff at the airport on camera giving erroneous advice that the whale meat could be legally taken into the United States. In fact, such citizens could face arrest and prosecution under several U.S. laws for illegal wildlife trade. Travellers returning with whale meat to the UK, European Union or many other nations that comply with a ban on international trade in whale products would face similar penalties.

Illegal in Britain
Tens of thousands of UK tourists who visit Iceland each year have now been given the warning by the Foreign Office which states that tourists risk penalties that include imprisonment or fines of up to £5,000 as importation into Britain and other EU countries is illegal under the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES).

"It is impossible that Iceland is unaware of laws that prohibit imports of whale meat," said Chris Butler-Stroud, CEO of WDCS. "Iceland is making a mockery of international law."

WDCS has recently been running an awareness campaign directed at tourists visiting Iceland after revealing that a staggering 35-40% of the meat from Minke whales slaughtered by Icelandic whalers is eaten by tourists visiting the country, most of whom have no idea that their actions are propping up commercial whaling in Iceland.