Dolphin and Whale Hunting: Faroe Islands

Debate between Kerry McCarthy and Margaret Ferrier

Monday 11th July 2022 Westminster Hall

[Kerry McCarthy]

I think we all agree that allowing the slaughter of even one dolphin or whale is unacceptable.

I pay tribute to conservation groups such as Born Free and Sea Shepherd, as well as to Dominic Dyer, for their campaigning on this matter. However, the burden of pressing for change should not fall on them; change requires international pressure and trade negotiations at Government level, where we have leverage. It is clear that the British public think that the Grind is horrific, but consumers who would be absolutely sickened by the bloody images from the Faroes are simultaneously—if completely unwittingly—buying products from the Faroe Islands in British supermarkets. There is a separate debate to be had about transparency around the issues in our food supply chains, be that deforestation in Brazil, the worst animal welfare practices in other countries or human rights abuses. Clearly, if people knew that they were propping up the Grind, they would not continue buying these products.

Where we are now is a post-Brexit development. We were told that we would be masters of our own destiny after Brexit, so I do not understand why our Government, who have placed on the record their strong opposition to the hunting of whales and dolphins, have failed to make banning it a prerequisite for any trade agreements. As we have heard, the Faroe Islands have very little leverage—we are way bigger than them in terms of what we bring—so this would have been an ideal opportunity to put pressure on them.

[Margaret Ferrier (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (Ind)]

The Government’s response to the petition states that they are opposed to the hunts and are committed to

“upholding high animal welfare standards in…trade relationships”,

but is unclear what will happen if the hunts continue. Should the UK not model its opposition by playing a stronger hand to encourage bringing the hunts to an end?

[Kerry McCarthy]

I agree with the hon. Lady. I have seen this so often. I remember sitting in a meeting with a Trade Minister—this goes back some time, because I have been around for quite a bit. When I spoke about human rights in China—I was shadowing the human rights Minister in the Foreign Office team—I was told that trade is a separate matter. I was told, “Human rights is dealt with by the Foreign Office. We are here to talk about trade and to get deals done.” That is entirely wrong. I could mention all sorts of examples that we should not accept of a lowering standards or of human rights abuses in other countries. We should use trade negotiations to set a clear marker on our standards and the standards we are prepared to accept from other countries.

The Government said in February that the UK

“continues to call on all whaling nations, including the Faroe Islands, at every appropriate opportunity to cease their whaling activities”.

I do not understand why the trade negotiations that took place in early 2019 were not an “appropriate opportunity”. What counts as an appropriate opportunity? Perhaps the Minister can tell us what discussions were had back then.