Iceland grants country’s last whaling company licence to hunt 128 fin whales

A fin whale carcass is cut up in Hvalfjörður, Iceland. The whale, deemed ‘vulnerable’ by the IUCN, was still classed as endangered in 2018. Photograph: B Compagnon/Sagaphoto/Alamy

Iceland has granted a licence to Europe’s last whaling company to kill more than 100 animals this year, despite hopes the practice might have been halted after concerns about cruelty led to a temporary suspension last year.

Animal rights groups described the news as “deeply disappointing” and “dangerous”.