An attempt to agree on a compromise between whaling nations and their opponents has failed. The Two days of private discussion were held by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) this week but an agreement could not be reached. Read the full story

As the International Whaling Commission (IWC) met in Portugal recently, Denmark requested on the behalf of Greenland to include 10 humpback whales in its annual hunting quota. Greenland presently has hunting quotas for minke and fin whales, but the meat obtained from these species is significantly less than the amount allowed by the IWC. Read the full story

Although the European Union is trying to establish a unified position against whaling within its member nations before the upcoming International Whaling Commission (IWC) summit, Denmark has already stated it will vote against the EU line on the issue. The Copenhagen Post reports that Denmark is prepared to back Greenland since the EU proposal will likely reject an amendment concerning Greenland’s request for an increased whaling quota. Read the full story

Last week Norway officially stated that it would not be able to catch enough whales this year to meet its allocated quota. Few nations still allow whaling, and animal activists are jumping on this opportunity to claim that this is proof Norway should abandon the highly controversial act of whaling.

Since the opening of this year’s whaling season on April 1, Norwegian fishermen have only been able to catch half of the number of whales allowed by government authorities. 533 minke whales have been caught out of an allowed quota of 1,052. The whaling season ended on August 31, and local fishermen were already admitting that they would fall far short of the quota weeks in advance, according to The Guardian.

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