It’s whaling season in Norway. Eleven countries signed a joint letter of protest, including New Zealand, which was delivered to the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Norway has defied the international ban on whaling since the early 1990s. I haven’t met a Norwegian yet who has not defended their right to hunt whale,, a livelihood that was once critical to communities living along the rugged west coast. Now that they’ve got oil, the hunting is more of a tradition. Here’s what the local paper Aftenpostenn described it…

“The hunt seems more symbolic and seeped in tradition than backed by commercial reward. The market for whale meat is small, and it’s not the staple of the Norwegian diet that it once was. The market for whale blubber is also restricted, and exports are limited.”