The Icelandic government announced today that it has suspended whaling until the end of August in the name of animal welfare, also leaving open the possibility of ending the controversial hunt for the marine mammals.

“I have taken the decision to temporarily suspend whaling” until August 31, Fisheries and Agriculture Minister Svadis Svanardottir said, under the terms of Icelandic animal welfare legislation.

“If the government and (hunting) license holders cannot guarantee the welfare requirements, this activity has no future,” the minister added.

The last active hunting company in the country, Hvalur, has already announced that this season will be its last due to declining fishing profitability.

Iceland’s whaling season runs from mid-June to mid-September, but activity is unlikely to resume after 31 August.

Annual quotas allow for the killing of 209 humpback whales – the second longest marine mammal after the blue whale – and 217 minke whales.

But catches have been significantly lower in recent years due to lower demand for whale meat.

And opposition to whaling is now a majority trend among the population: 51% of Icelanders oppose it, compared to 42% four years ago, according to a survey conducted by the Maskina Institute, the results of which were released in early June.

Mainly because hunting these cetaceans takes too long, and is against Icelandic law, according to a report by the country’s veterinary authorities. Videos recently released by these authorities show the shocking agony of a whale whose hunt for its kill last year lasted five hours.

Iceland, Norway and Japan are the only countries that allow whaling.