E-petition 597171, relating to the hunting of dolphins and whales in the Faroe Islands

Summary

A debate on e-petition 597171 Suspend trade agreement with Faroe Islands until all whale & dolphin hunts end will take place in Westminster Hall on 11 July 2022. The petition closed on 21 March 2022 and received 104,664 signatures.

The petition calls for the UK to suspend its Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the Faroe Islands:

In 2019 UK Government finalised a free trade agreement (FTA) with Faroe Islands which allows for £100 million of exports of wild caught and farmed fish to Britain per annum (20% of the Faroe Islands global trade). This FTA should be suspended until all whale & dolphin hunts on Faroe Islands end The Free Trade Agreement with the Faroe Islands gives the UK Government significant leverage when it comes to ending the mass slaughter of pilot whales and dolphins on the Faroe Islands which causes huge anger and revulsion around the world. If the UK is to be considered a world leader in the protection of marine mammals it must use this leverage now. [1]

The Faroe Islands is an autonomous nation within the Kingdom of Denmark, in the North Atlantic Ocean with a population of around 50,000. It determines its own policies in many areas including external trade policy and conservation. It is not part of the EU.  Pilot whale and white sided dolphin hunts are activities that take place throughout the year in the Faroe Islands. The UK and the Faroe Islands signed a free trade agreement in 2019 which entered into force on 1 January 2021.

[1] e-petition 597171 Suspend trade agreement with Faroe Islands until all whale & dolphin hunts end