In Defense of Animals has signed onto a letter initiated by the Animal Welfare Institute and signed by 34 other organizations to compel various airlines in North America to help stop the horrific Iceland whaling industry.

A little known, yet important, fact about Iceland’s whaling industry is that it is almost entirely done for the benefit of tourists, who are led to believe that whale flesh is a local, traditional food. In reality, Icelanders by and large do not eat these beautiful beings who grace their coastlines.

The letter asks the airlines – including Air Canada, Delta and others – to stop promoting the consumption of whale products in their in-flight magazines, by which the cruel industry is propped up. It also asks that the airlines post messages that actively discourage both the eating of whales and the purchasing whale products like baleen.

Iceland continues to kill whales despite the global moratorium on whaling that was established in 1985. Last year, 46 mike whales were brutally slaughtered, and this year’s season is about to start up again. All of this is in stark contrast to the nations’ much more benign and profitable whale watching industry, which has been booming lately – bringing millions of people out to the open water to watch these magnificent beings in their natural habitat. 

We are among the organizations signed onto the letter that encourage concerned citizens like you to contact Air Canada (Facebook; Twitter), American Airlines (Facebook; Twitter), Delta (Facebook; Twitter), Jet Blue (Facebook; Twitter), and United (Facebook; Twitter) on social media to ask the airlines not to promote Icelandic whale meat and products. Thank you for caring!