License to kill 🐋

A multi-millionaire has been slaughtering endangered fin whales – many of them pregnant. Now Iceland’s government just granted him a new licence, potentially condemning 128 of these majestic giants to a slow and painful death. But here’s the catch: The key minister is against the slaughter, and a chance to change the law permanently is in the making! Public pressure – including from 1.7 million of us! – saved these whales before, let’s urgently come together again to stop Iceland’s last whaler for good: Iceland just granted controversial whaler Kristijan Loftsson a licence to kill 128 vulnerable fin whales. But, surprisingly, this may be the moment to end whale slaughter once and for all!Fin whales are awe-inspiring -- capable of communicating through song, feeling love, and experiencing deep emotional suffering. Loftsson often kills them pregnant, and a study found that these majestic giants can take up to 2 hours to die after being harpooned.The key minister doesn’t agree with whaling, and said as much. She also granted this year’s licence so late that Loftsson couldn’t get his boat and crew ready in time, effectively stopping him from killing whales – this season. Now we must end the slaughter of the second largest mammal on earth for good.Iceland’s outdated whaling law from 1949 puts the right to hunt above animal welfare, and a legislative proposal to change that may be tabled in weeks! Experts on the ground say a global call can help encourage Icelandic MPs to do the right thing – let’s get to 2 million, add your name and share with everyone you know: [SIGN HERE]( A multi-millionaire has been slaughtering endangered fin whales – many of them pregnant. Now Iceland’s government just granted him a new licence, potentially condemning 128 of these majestic giants to a slow and painful death. But here’s the catch: The key minister is against the slaughter, and a chance to change the law permanently is in the making! Public pressure – including from 1.7 million of us! – saved these whales before, let’s urgently come together again to stop Iceland’s last whaler for good: [SIGN HERE]( Dear friends, Iceland just granted controversial whaler Kristijan Loftsson a licence to kill 128 vulnerable fin whales. But, surprisingly, this may be the moment to end whale slaughter once and for all! Fin whales are awe-inspiring -- capable of communicating through song, feeling love, and experiencing deep emotional suffering. Loftsson often kills them pregnant, and a study found that these majestic giants can take up to 2 hours to die after being harpooned. The key minister doesn’t agree with whaling, and said as much. She also granted this year’s licence so late that Loftsson couldn’t get his boat and crew ready in time, effectively stopping him from killing whales – this season. Now we must end the slaughter of the second largest mammal on earth for good. Iceland’s outdated whaling law from 1949 puts the right to hunt above animal welfare, and a legislative proposal to change that may be tabled in weeks! Experts on the ground say a global call can help encourage Icelandic MPs to do the right thing – let’s get to 2 million, add your name and share with everyone you know: [SAVE ICELAND’S FIN WHALES - STOP THE SLAUGHTER]( Scientists discovered cells in whales' brains that process complex emotions like romance and grief. These were thought to exist only in humans and great apes, but whales have up to three times more of them than humans! Loftsson is the most prominent man in Europe still slaughtering these gentle giants for profit – even pregnant whales aren’t safe from the hunt. Meanwhile, millions of tourists flock to Iceland every year for its natural beauty and to watch whales in the wild - but a few years ago, visitors were left in shock, when they saw one of Loftsson's ships floating in bloody water, hauling a carcass. "Just tell them to look somewhere else. They can just turn around and look the other way," he said. Let’s show him that we won’t look away from this massacre, and help Icelandic politicians keen to change the law with a huge global call! This is in the news right now, so we need to move fast! Add your name and share everywhere – when we make it massive, Avaaz will deliver our call directly, and will work with partners to expose this horror: [SAVE ICELAND’S FIN WHALES - STOP THE SLAUGHTER]( One of the very first campaigns after Avaaz was founded pushed for an end to cruel whale hunting – and since then, our community has flocked together again and again, called out governments that allow the slaughter of these amazing creatures, convincing ports to not let the whalers dock, and winning important protections. The fight continues – let’s come together once more. With hope, Antonia, Mo, John and the whole Avaaz team More information: - [Iceland grants country’s last whaling company licence to hunt 128 fin whales]( (The Guardian) - [Iceland issues license for 128 fin whales to be hunted this year]( (AP News) - [15 wonderfully weird facts about whales]( (Cracked) Avaaz is a 70-million-person global campaign network that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people shape global decision-making. ("Avaaz" means "voice" or "song" in many languages.) Avaaz members live in every nation of the world; our team is spread across 18 countries on 6 continents and operates in 22 languages. Learn about some of Avaaz's biggest campaigns [here](, or follow us on [Facebook](, [X](, or [Instagram](. You became a member of the Avaaz movement and started receiving these emails when you signed "Join Avaaz!" on 2016-03-01 using the email address {EMAIL}. 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