In a session of the Environment Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee this week Dr Neil Hudson, MP for Penrith and The Border, questioned the Fisheries Minister, Victoria Prentis, and DEFRA officials on what pressure the British Government applies to countries like the Faroe Islands and Norway regarding their outdated and cruel whaling practices.
Dr Hudson wants to make sure that the animal welfare standards that the Government talk up at home are also pressed when speaking with our partners across the globe.
Dr Hudson asked the Minister:
“You talked about Britain’s responsibility to the world’s oceans and seas in terms of marine conservation and species. When we think about Norway and the Faroes, in our discussion and deliberations with them and we think about Global Britain and the pressure that we as a country can put on these countries in terms of our values and how we think the oceans and seas should be managed, what pressure can the UK Government put on the Faroes and Norway on changing their practices on things like whaling? Trying to get rid of that abhorrent practice. Is that something that Britain can have a role on in the world stage now?”
The Fisheries Minster responded:
“This is something we raise. It’s something we raise very regularly, particularly with the Faroe Islands and I think you’ll remember, as will the rest of the Committee, the incident that took place last year which I think was shocking to many of us and our constituents. I remember I raised it in my very first letter to the Faroese Minister and will continue to do so. They don’t appear to resent that engagement and they accept it as part of global engagement.”
Commenting afterward Dr Hudson said:
“I am a supporter of the Government’s aims for Global Britain, but we need to ensure that our actions match our words. I am therefore pleased that the Government does raise the whaling issue with the countries like the Faroes and Norway. It is not just whales but dolphins too; with horrifying scenes of 1,428 slaughtered white-sided dolphins just off the Faroe Islands in August last year. We must apply pressure globally to end these abhorrent practices where and when we can.”
