MEDIA RELEASE
23 April 2010
Disastrous new proposal by IWC would harpoon
commercial whaling ban
A proposal published today which would legalise commercial whaling and give Japan,
Norway and Iceland the green light to cruelly slaughter thousands of whales would be
an unmitigated disaster, the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) said
today.
The deadly proposal, published by an advisory group of the International Whaling
Commission (IWC), is to be voted on at the annual meeting of the IWC in June, in
Morocco.
The deal, championed by the United States, has emerged at the end of a 2-year series
of negotiations to decide a future for the IWC, aimed at resolving conflict between anti-
and pro-whaling nations. If adopted in June, it would effectively lift the 24-year
international moratorium on commercial whaling and legitimise whaling for a 10-year
period.
WSPA roundly condemns the deal, highlighting that it fails to acknowledge the
fundamental problem with commercial whaling: that it is inherently inhumane.
WSPA Australia’s Programs Manager, Emily Reeves said: ‘The IWC is bargaining with
the lives of whales by simply playing with numbers. It is entirely missing the point that
there is no humane way to kill a whale at sea. Commercial whaling is cruel, archaic and
unnecessary; it has no place in the 21st century.
‘A proposal to resuscitate the world’s dying whaling industries would be a huge step
backwards for animal welfare and conservation globally. The IWC is rewarding Japan,
Iceland and Norway by legitimising commercial whaling in this way.
‘We urge the Australian Government to stand strong against this dangerous proposal
and to continue to fight for their alternative proposal – which will afford whales the
protection they so urgently need.’
If passed, the IWC’s proposal would allow Japan to kill 400 minke and 10 fin whales a
year in the waters around Antarctica and 120 animals a year in the North Pacific waters
around its coasts. Iceland would be allocated an annual quota of 80 fins and 80 minke
whales and Norway an annual quota of 600 minkes.
Ms Reeves said animal welfare and conservation groups are united in opposition to this
U-turn on years of opposition to rogue whaling operations by Japan, Norway and
Iceland.
‘Over the last twenty years the whaling nations have met with global condemnation for
flouting the whaling ban and killing over 25,000 whales. To now reward this behaviour
by offering up yet more whales is tantamount to waving the white flag. We’ll be working
hard to lobby governments before June to derail this dangerous deal, and instead focus
on the IWC’s future as a body to manage whale conservation and whale watching.
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For more information and/or photographs:
Louise Fitzsimons, Communications Manager, WSPA
(02) 9902 8013 / 0414 775 275 / louisefitzsimons@wspa.org.au
NEWS 
