Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2017-07-06-Speech-4-047-000"
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"en.20170706.7.4-047-000"2
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"Mr President, over the past few years Norwegian whalers have hunted more whales than Iceland and Japan combined. In 2016 alone, 591 minke whales were killed, and for 2017 the quota has been set for 990 whales. Yet in Norway, as was previously said, the domestic demand for whale meat has fallen to the point that unwanted whale meat is now being sent to fur farms to be used as feed. What a doubly grotesque state of affairs that is.
This decline in demand should not come as any surprise, given the very high levels of toxic contaminants found in whale products, including PCBs, hormone-disrupting chemicals and mercury. Sadly, as large mammals, whales are greatly at risk from persistent organic pollutants because of bio-accumulation in the food chain. In fact, the Japanese Government itself has rejected imports of Norwegian whale meat after tests revealed pesticide levels double the amount Japan permits in imports, making the meat unfit for human consumption, so that it simply has to be destroyed.
Despite this, Norway has sharply increased its exports to Japan. However, as there is no direct shipping route to Asia, EU ports offer a convenient stopping off point for the ships.
In the European Union our legislation could not be any clearer: all cetacean species are strictly protected and any incidental capture, killing or sale by EU Members is prohibited. Under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), international trade in whale products is also specifically prohibited.
It simply beggars belief that the EU is assisting another country that holds the polar opposite views and values on this issue to transport whale meat via its ports. This clearly goes against our conservation laws designed to protect these magnificent creatures.
I would like the Commission to give Parliament all the data available on these exports, to use its influence in CITES and in the International Whaling Commission to encourage Norway to end its cruel and unnecessary practice of whaling. If this does not result in the desired outcome, I call on the Commission to recommend a ban on whale-meat transiting through EU ports, as an exceptional measure."@en1
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