The whale hunting industry is not what it seems, and it’s time for commercial whale hunting to come to an end. Even though many people believe that whale meat is a “traditional delicacy” in Iceland, it isn’t – and most of the whale meat that goes through restaurants actually sells to tourists who have the wrong idea!
Meet Us Don’t Eat Us is a collaborative project between IFAW and IceWhale to see commercial whale hunting ended in Iceland.
Why should the tourism industry encourage whale hunting, when tourists could be brought up close and personal with the wonderful whale instead?
IFAW and IceWhale wants to see an end to whale hunting through awareness, the promotion of whale-friendly restaurants and whale watching instead of the violent, unnecessary slaughtering of whales that happens each year.
Here’s what to know about the Meet Us Don’t Eat Us project, and exactly how IFAW and IceWhale can achieve their goals with the help of the public.
About This Project
The project called Meet Us Don’t Eat Us is one of the largest nonprofit causes against the whale hunting industry in Iceland, and perhaps in the entire world.
Meet Us Don’t Eat Us started in the year 2010, approximately four years after the commercial whaling industry in Iceland was reintroduced.
The whale hunting industry is fueled by fake news, rumors and misinformation about tradition and traditional cuisine in Iceland.
Whale meat might have been a more common part of daily life hundreds of years ago, but this is no longer the case – and real, modern people of Iceland don’t consume whale meat on a regular basis (or for traditional means).
Project goals
The first important goal for IFAW and IceWhale is to dispel myths surrounding the consumption of whale meat in Iceland. No, it’s not a traditional thing in Iceland, and whale meat is mostly advertised and sold to tourists or restaurants that support its sale.
The second important goal for IFAW and IceWhale is to support and promote whale-friendly restaurants in the best locations of Iceland. If you are going to visit the beautiful region of Iceland for the best possible culinary experience, whale meat should never be part of the menu. Why choose whale when you can eat anything else at some of the best-rated restaurants in Iceland?
IFAW and IceWhale would also like to promote the awareness of whales and their wonderful lives. Visitors, locals and tourists can find more information about Meet Us Don’t Eat Us at some of the popular tourist spots in Iceland, where volunteers are on the move to distribute leaflets with everything you might want to know about getting involved in the project.
The fourth important goal for the Meet Us Don’t Eat Us project is to promote the very vibrant whale watching industry in Iceland. Whale watching is the ultimate tourist experience, and it brings humans right up close and personal with some of the greatest creatures in the ocean. Why eat the whales when you can see them right in front of you, being happy in their natural habitat?
With information, and the promotion of whale watching and whale friendly restaurants in Iceland, IFAW and IceWhale believes they can make all the difference and give nature some of its own back.
Since the project has started in 2010, the commercial whale hunting industry has seen a steady decline. With your support, commercial whaling can come to an end.
The Largest Petition in Iceland
IFAW and IceWhale believes that many hands make light work.
The collaborative project to end the whale hunting industry has become the largest petition in Iceland. The Meet Us Don’t Eat Us project wants to raise awareness – and a strong petition is one of the best ways to let opinions about whale hunting be heard.
Since its start, the largest petition in Iceland to end commercial whale hunting has brought together more than 100, 000 signatures from people all over the world.
If you would like to add your voice to the end of the whale hunt in our time, add your signature and make the largest petition in Iceland even bigger with your name.
Together, we can bring an end to the negative impact on whale hunting.
A Collaborative Project
Meet Us Don’t Eat Us is a project by the Icelandic Whale Watching Association (IceWhale) and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).
Powerful animal rights organizations on their own, they have joined forces for the Meet Us Don’t Eat Us initiative that has proven to have a very strong impact on lessening demand for whale meat and whale hunting in Iceland.
As more people learn the truth about whaling and whale hunting in Iceland – and that it’s not truly tradition! – the demand for whale meat is on a steady decline.
Tradition…or Truth?
It’s time to bring an end to whale hunting, an industry that is mistakenly believed to be “tradition” in Iceland. Whale hunting is no more tradition in Iceland than people in the Netherlands wearing wooden shoes every day – it just doesn’t happen this way in modern times.
According to a Gallup poll, only about 2% of Icelanders have ever eaten whale meat in their lives.
Unlike the myths a lot of people might believe about Iceland and its inhabitants, whale meat is something that’s exclusively hunted for the benefit of tourists.
Once people stop supporting the commercial whale hunting trade, there almost certainly remains no need to do it anymore.
An End to Commercial Whaling
Commercial whale hunting in Iceland resumed in 2006 after a hiatus.
Meet Us Don’t Eat Us is all about bringing the truth about whale hunting to the mainstream – and getting rid of the myths, like the idea that whale meat is somehow traditional or something that tourists have to experience when they visit Iceland.
Meet Us Don’t Eat Us involves whale-friendly restaurants, open conversations about whale hunting, leaflets that inform people about whales and their true nature, and responsible whale tours that put you up close and personal with whales.
We can end commercial whale hunting and whale meat consumption in our lifetime.