Whales object to whaling compromise

A new draft compromise on whaling released by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) today set a dangerous precedent that the international community must reject, WWF said.

A working group within the IWC today unveiled a new compromise aimed at unlocking the stalled negotiation process between countries fundamentally opposed to whaling and states that support it.

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While the compromise contains many positive elements for whale conservation that would help bring the IWC into the 21st Century, the compromise could legitimise "scientific" whaling by Japan in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.

"If there is one single place in the world where whales should be fully protected, it is the Southern Ocean," said Wendy Elliott, Species Manager at WWF-International.

"What we need is to eliminate all whaling in the Southern Ocean, including Japanese commercial whaling thinly disguised as 'scientific research'. But what we have now is a deal which could make it even easier for Japan to continue taking whales in this ecologically unique place."

The IWC has maintained a ban on all commercial whaling since 1986. But, defying this ban, Japan, Norway and Iceland use loopholes in the IWC's founding treaty to kill more than 1,500 whales a year. The loopholes allow whaling under "objection" to management decisions (Norway and Iceland) and "scientific" whaling for research purposes (Japan).

Article continues: http://www.panda.org/wwf_news/news/?uNewsID=189581