IFAW: Icelandic Airport tries to censor animal welfare organisation with shock U-turn on paid-for advertising

The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) appears to be under threat of censorship after the boss of Keflavik Airport in Iceland ordered it to remove whale conservation adverts.

Earlier this year, IFAW agreed and paid a four-month contract with the airport to display adverts in its baggage hall, including the slogan ‘Meet Us Don’t Eat Us’, part of a joint campaign between IFAW and the Icelandic Whale Watching Association (Icewhale) encouraging tourists to enjoy whale watching in Iceland and help protect whales by avoiding eating whale meat.

The airport’s General Manager Hlynur Sigurdsson yesterday (Thursday) made two brief telephone calls to IFAW’s Icelandic representative saying the adverts must be changed or removed. Despite IFAW receiving no official correspondence regarding the issue, it is now being widely reported in Icelandic media.

Robbie Marsland, UK Director of IFAW, said: “We are very puzzled and disappointed by these developments. We had been liaising with Keflavik Airport since March to ensure our adverts conformed to their standards and ethics before staff there happily gave us approval for production in April.

“It seems strange that after following this procedure they should now ask for them to be removed. At the very least we would like to have reasoned dialogue and find out why they have backtracked on their agreement.”

The airport adverts are one part of a highly visible campaign asking tourists to protect whales in Iceland. Meet Us Don’t Eat Us leaflets are also being carried on flight buses and excursion coaches in Iceland and volunteers wearing whale tail costumes are talking to tourists in downtown Reykjavik throughout the summer.

The campaign launched in Iceland on June 4 with an event in Reykjavik’s Old Harbour attended by whale watching operators, tourism representatives and other VIPs. A representative from the Minke Whalers Association was also invited to attend but failed to respond. The Meet Us Don’t Eat Us adverts, approved by Keflavik Airport’s marketing department, went on display at the airport the same day, following previous IFAW adverts being carried in the same locations.

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For more information or to arrange interviews please contact Sigursteinn Masson at IFAW in Iceland on 00 354 8638361, email sigusteinnmasson@gmail.com

Alternatively contact Clare Sterling at IFAW in the UK on +44 (0)7917 507717, email csterling@ifaw.org or Robbie Marsland on +44 (0)7801 613534, email rmarsland@ifaw.org

Notes to Editors –

IFAW opposes whaling because it is inherently cruel – there is no humane way to kill a whale. While many people believe whale meat is a popular dish enjoyed by most Icelanders, only about 5% of Icelanders claim to eat it regularly (Gallup poll, June 2010).

Despite the cruelty involved in whaling and limited appetite for whale meat among Icelanders, IFAW is concerned that an estimated 40% of tourists are persuaded to eat whale meat under the mistaken belief that it is a traditional Icelandic dish. This means that whales are killed each year just to be sampled by curious tourists.

IFAW hopes the Meet Us Don’t Eat Us campaign will encourage visitors to Iceland to think about the menu choices they make in the country’s excellent restaurants to ensure they don’t go home with a bad taste in their mouths.

Iceland’s commercial whaling started in 1948 and stopped in 1989, with a few boats resuming minke whaling in 2003, initially for so-called scientific research.

The killing of endangered fin whales for commercial reasons began in Iceland in 2006, provoking international outcry. Fin whales have continued to be harpooned in Iceland since 2008, with a view to selling the meat to Japan, but so far this has had little success. Last month it was announced that this year’s fin whaling season would be delayed and staff laid off because of problems trading the meat.

About IFAW (the International Fund for Animal Welfare)
Founded in 1969, IFAW saves animals in crisis around the world. With projects in more than 40 countries, IFAW rescues individual animals, works to prevent cruelty to animals and advocates for the protection of wildlife and habitats. For more information, visit www.ifaw.org. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.