No more whale meat at airport store

REYKJAVIK, Iceland, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- Minke whale steaks and other whale meat will no longer be sold at Keflavik International Airport, the Icelandic government said Thursday.

The announcement came hard on the heels of a warning from the British Foreign Office that anyone trying to bring whale meat into the country from Iceland would face confiscation, The Guardian reported. Penalties could include a fine of as much as 5,000 pounds (almost $8,000) and a jail term.

A Visit Iceland spokeswoman said whale meat was being taken off the shelves at Keflavik by Wednesday night.

Two anti-whaling groups said in October their investigators had purchased minke whale steaks at Keflavik. They said employees in the airport shop had falsely told them the meat could be legally brought into the United States.

The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society released a statement Thursday urging tourists to abstain from whale while they are in Iceland.