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A controversy erupted in Iceland after an animal rights association claimed that a blue whale, a protected species, had been killed, which is unprecedented for 50 years.
"Sea Shepherd volunteers who monitor the Hvalur hf spa in Hvalfjördur, Iceland, reported the incident," the association said.
The blue whale is a protected animal since 1966. Its hunting is prohibited by the International Whaling Commission
The animal hunted for its size and marks on the skin on its sides, has been identified as a blue whale.
"We harpooned him thinking that it was a common whale." Kristjan Loftsson, president of Hvalurg's company
"We see blue whales all the time on the high seas and we never try to hunt them, we identify them by the breath of their orifices (water vapor expelled by the spiracle, bigger than that of the other whales) ", he added.
To resolve the conflict, a sample was taken from the animal to be subjected to a DNA test
At the end of this month the first results of the analyzes carried out to determine the species of hunted animal, but these might be insufficient.
In the case of hybrid whales, there is no Icelandic law on the hunting of these species, although their trade is governed by the Convention on International Trade in Wild Species and Threatened Wild Flora. ;extinction.
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