Icelandic film producers not happy with whaling decision
"More worth alive than dead" is written on the poster that was displayed yesterday at the Reykjavik harbour in protest of the decision to allow whaling again.. mbl.is/Eyþór
The board of the Association of Icelandic Film Producers (SÍK) regrets the decision of the Minister of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries to reauthorize whaling and says that it is concerned about the consequences of the decision.
Calling on the Icelandic government
The federation’s statement notes that already many foreign film producers, actors and environmentalists have signed a letter calling on the Icelandic government to ban whaling.
“The Icelandic film industry has been growing over the last few years and is currently establishing itself as the ideal destination for the various production projects. In this context, the film industry’s turnover was about 25 billion in the past year, a large proportion of which is export revenue. The international film industry’s position on whaling is weighing heavily on whether the construction of the last few years will continue or Iceland will be boycotted. The Icelandic government has in recent years taken great pride in promoting the competitiveness of the Icelandic film industry,” the statement reads.
SÍK encourages the Icelandic government to look to the overall interests of Icelandic society and hopes for a quick consensus of parties on a whaling ban.
On the news
The issue of whaling has been controversial for years and foreign whaling activists, like Sea Shepherd, have targeted whaling boats at sea. The decision yesterday draw some attention and in The Guardian an article was published about Iceland taking a "massive step backwards" in allowing whaling again.
"Ruud Tombrock, the European director of the Humane Society International, said: “It is inexplicable that minister Svavarsdóttir has dismissed the unequivocal scientific evidence that she herself commissioned, demonstrating the brutality and cruelty of commercial whale killing. There is simply no way to make harpooning whales at sea anything other than cruel and bloody, and no amount of modifications will change that."
