Horror as protected rare whale is killed 'by mistake' with harpoon during 'brutal' hunt

Horrified environmentalists have voiced their fury after sickening pictures emerged appearing to show a rare protected whale slaughtered "by accident" by hunters.



Experts believe the huge mammal, seen dead at an Icelandic whaling station, is either a critically endangered blue whale or an extremely rare blue whale hybrid.



It was killed by workers during a hunt branded "barbaric" by activists , and in defiance of an worldwide whaling ban.



The boss of the whaling company said the animal was killed after being mistaken for a fin whale, and defiantly hit back at animal rights groups - telling Mirror Online his critics are "against everything".



The latest killing comes just days after the first casualty of the "barbaric" annual hunt was pictured by observers, who now say 22 whales have been killed since it started on June 22.



Earlier this year Iceland's government controversially granted whaling company Hvalur permission to kill up to 238 fin whales this summer.



This is in spite of an international ban on commercial whaling.