Pro-Whaling Nations Pass Resolution Against Hunting Moratorium

WHALES AHOY

Japanese customers Kazuya Sasaoka (L) and Takahiro Nishiyama enjoy whale meat dishes including deep fried, grilled and raw meat at a whale restaurant at Wada town in Chiba prefecture, near Tokyo 10 June 2006. Wada does not take part in "research" catches but instead is one of four Japanese towns that openly kill whales for commercial sale -- a practice allowed as the species they target are not protected by the IWC. Photo courtesy of Kyoko Hasegawa and AFP.

by Staff Writers
Frigate Bay (AFP) Jun 19, 2006
Pro-whaling nations secured their first victory at world whaling talks Sunday by passing a resolution that labelled the 20-year moratorium on commercial hunts "no longer necessary."

Although the non-binding resolution will not result in the moratorium being overturned, it was a significant triumph for Japan and other states campaigning for the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to lift the ban on commercial whaling.

The moratorium would need a 75 percent super-majority to be overturned. The resolution proposed by commission hosts St Kitts and Nevis passed by 33 to 32 votes with one abstention.

The resolution declared: "The moratorium, which was clearly intended as a temporary measure, is no longer necessary."

Environmental activists had strongly opposed the resolution and expressed disappointment at the vote.

"This is the most significant setback since it came into force," said Kitty Block, a lawyer with Humane Society International.

The vote represented a major victory for pro-whaling nations led by Japan who want to turn the IWC away from pure conservation and back to a focus on managing whale stocks for hunting.

"This is an historic victory," said Glenn Inwood, spokesman for the Japanese delegation. "It is only a matter of time before it is gone completely."

Japan hopes to use the declaration as a political weapon, allowing it to argue that more states than not on the 70-nation IWC believed the moratorium should be lifted.

Source: Agence France-Presse

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WHALES AHOY

Deja Vu All Over Again For Whale Campaigners

Washington (AFP) Jun 15, 2006
Pardon veterans of the global environmental movement for feeling a sense of deja vu, as they set course on a new mission to "Save the Whales." The fabled campaign of the 1970s and 1980s was credited with saving whales from the verge of extinction, and led to a moratorium on commercial harpooning that has stood for nearly 20 years.

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