Winners Gallery

"Even today, some countries still hunt whales despite their importance as keystone species who sequester as much carbon as thousands of trees," says Iliya. "Until very recently, there was still one operator in Iceland who hunted whales despite opposition from the rest of the nation. I shot this scene from the whale processing station with a drone. Here, a fin whale is butchered after being killed with explosive harpoons, a practice that often results in hours of agony before the whale’s death. Since taking this photo, whaling has been halted in Iceland due to public pressure and images like these showing the brutality of whaling. Hopefully this scene will never take place again."