Iceland has lifted a temporary ban on whaling, allowing hunting to resume under stricter regulations.

The moratorium imposed in June, on animal welfare grounds, ends on Thursday.

Animal rights groups responded to the decision with dismay, calling it ‘shameful’.

Reykjavík said it will resume hunting fin whales with new guidelines aimed at killing them as quickly as possible to reduce suffering.

Iceland resumed hunting fin whales, which can reach lengths of over 20 metres (65 feet), in 2006 after a 20-year pause.

The International Whaling Commission – a global body that oversees whale conservation – imposed a moratorium in 1986 after some species came close to extinction.

Although several are still endangered or even on the brink of extinction, Iceland, along with Norway and Japan, have resumed commercial whaling.

Reykjavík suspended commercial whaling in June after a government-commissioned report said that it took too long for whales to die after they were harpooned, sometimes hours, in breach of its law on animal welfare.

The hunting will be resumed after a government working group concluded that it was possible to improve the hunting methods.

The Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries said ‘a Regulation will be issued that will include detailed and stricter requirements for hunting equipment and hunting methods, as well as increased supervision’.

Iceland’s public broadcaster said whale hunters would be required to complete a course in whale biology, pain perception and stress.

They will be also provided with detailed instructions of how to harpoon the animals to make sure that they die quickly.

The country’s Food and Veterinary Authority estimated in a May report that 67% of the 58 whales caught by boats it monitored died or lost consciousness quickly or immediately.

But it said 14 whales were shot more than once, and two were shot four times before they died.

Humane Society International, an animal welfare advocacy group, condemned the move as a ‘devastating’ rejection of an opportunity to ‘do the right thing’.