Iceland is considering a permanent commercial whaling ban under legislation scheduled for February 2027.
The proposed changes would overhaul the country’s Whaling Act, which has been in place since 1949.
“A law to stop the killing can’t come soon enough,” Humane World for Animals spokesperson Wendy Higgins says.
The organisation welcomes the legislative commitment, while calling for an end to the hunts.
Whaling continues this season. Humane World for Animals reports 80 adult fin whales killed against a quota of 150 in its 11 September statement.
What the proposed Iceland whaling ban could change
The timing of any permanent ban remains uncertain, particularly for companies holding existing hunting permits.
Whale and Dolphin Conservation warns that changing the law may not immediately stop hunting under those licences.
“The rewrite has to reckon with the rights of the people holding permits today,” campaigner Luke McMillan says.
The organisation says existing five-year licences, issued in 2024, could be affected when hunting ends.
Key facts about the proposed changes:
- Legislation: A revision of Iceland’s Whaling Act is scheduled for February 2027.
- Proposed direction: A permanent whaling ban will receive particular consideration.
- Current position: The announcement does not immediately stop whale hunting.
- Existing permits: Their treatment remains an important question for the legislation.
- International impact: Ending Iceland’s commercial hunts would leave Norway and Japan as the remaining commercial whaling countries.
Iceland’s commercial whaling history; animal welfare legislation
The International Whaling Commission agreed to a commercial whaling moratorium in 1982, effective from the 1985–86 season.
Iceland left the commission in 1992 and rejoined in 2002 with a reservation to the moratorium.
It resumed commercial whaling in 2006.
Norway operates under an objection to the moratorium.
Japan withdrew from the commission in 2019 and resumed commercial hunting that year.
Animal welfare concerns have repeatedly brought Iceland’s hunts under scrutiny.
In May 2023, Iceland’s Food and Veterinary Authority published findings from its monitoring of the previous year’s fin whale hunt.
Of 148 whales examined, 36 had been shot more than once.
Onboard monitoring covered 58 whales. Two required four shots, taking almost an hour and two hours respectively to kill.
The authority raised concerns about whether whale hunting could meet the objectives of animal welfare legislation.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare sets out its opposition in an official statement published on 13 February 2026:
“IFAW opposes commercial whaling. It is cruel and unnecessary. There is no humane way to kill a whale.”
The IFAW statement also advocates responsible whale watching.
→ Related reading: How Wildlife Heritage Areas promote responsible travel.
For Iceland, the next scheduled step is February’s legislation.
Its final wording will determine whether a ban proceeds and how existing permits are addressed.
Featured photograph: fin whale, NOAA Fisheries. File image; not photographed during Iceland’s 2026 hunt.
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