IWC upholds commercial whaling ban |
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Fri, 01 Jun 2007 00:26
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ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The International Whaling Commission passed a resolution Thursday that upholds a 21-year moratorium on commercial whaling.The move on the final day of the commission's annual meeting essentially snubbed a symbolic resolution passed by a one-vote majority last year that said the ban was meant to be temporary and was no longer needed.Pro-whaling factions lobbied hard against the resolution, saying it would fuel the already tense relations between pro- and anti-whaling nations that have been demonstrated during the four-day gathering in Anchorage.The ban, enacted in 1986, aims to protect several vulnerable species. Pro-whaling nations, including Japan, Norway and Iceland, say populations have rebounded and the ban is no longer necessary. Norway and Iceland do not recognize the ban and conduct commercial whaling.Also on Thursday, the commission passed Greenland's revised proposal to increase its aboriginal quota of minke whales to 200 as well as hunt fin and bowhead whales. Greenland, a semiautonomous Danish territory, originally wanted to also add humpback whales, but met adamant opposition from critics who noted that the huge humpbacks and bowheads have low reproduction cycles.The World Society for the Protection of Animals claimed anti-whaling nations -- particularly the United States, United Kingdom and Netherlands -- buckled and pushed the vote over the 75 percent mark it needed to pass.'It got through by the skin of its teeth,' said spokeswoman Leah Garces. 'They really let whales down by allowing this to go through.'The IWC also was scheduled to revisit by the meeting's end Japan's contentious request to allow four coastal communities to hunt minke whales.Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Japan argues to hunt minke whales 