Whalers cut open and inspect a 35-tonne [Getty Images]

Whalers cut open and inspect a 35-tonne fin whale on June 19, 2009, one of two fin whales caught aboard a Hvalur boat off the coast of Hvalfjsrour, north of Reykjavik, on the western coast of Iceland. Iceland would probably be forced to end its controversial whale hunting tradition in its bid to join the European Union, the head of a leading Icelandic whaling company Hvalur said. Iceland and Norway are the only two countries in the world that authorise commercial whaling despite a 23-year-old moratorium set by the International Whaling Commission, which opens its annual meeting on June 22 in Portugal's Madeira island. AFP PHOTO/Halldor Kolbeins (Photo credit should read HALLDOR KOLBEINS/AFP/Getty Images)

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