Keisha Castle-Hughes saving the whales, not whaling

Whale Rider star, Keisha Castle-Hughes, is urging New Zealanders to help “save the whales”.

In June, the New Zealand Government will meet with governments from around the world at the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in Morocco to consider
a proposal which would legitimise Japan, Norway and Iceland’s commercial whaling.

The proposal drafted by a special group of the IWC, would allow the three whaling nations to openly hunt whales if they agreed to reduce their total catch over the next ten years and submit DNA samples and other data to the IWC.

As Keisha explains, this proposal is more about saving the whaling industry than saving whales.

“The deal, if passed, would effectively lift the whaling ban, setting a dangerous and unprecedented endorsement of commercial whaling. It will not guarantee a reduction in the number of whales killed by Japan, Norway or Iceland in the long term. More worryingly, the proposal opens the floodgates in the future to other countries wanting to hunt whales and trade in whale products, allowing this cruel and unnecessary industry to expand worldwide,” she says.

“This is totally unacceptable. Whaling is horrendously cruel. The exploding harpoons used to kill whales have changed little since my great-grandparent’s days, which often means a slow and agonising death.”

“I am appalled that the New Zealand Government, once one of the staunchest defenders of whale welfare and conservation, is considering supporting a proposal which would give the green light to this outdated and unspeakably cruel practice,” says Keisha.

WSPA, along with Greenpeace, Forest and Bird, Whale Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) and Project Jonah have united to tell the government ‘no deal’. They are collecting the names of New Zealanders who do not support this proposal which would usher in a new era of commercial whaling.

“We urgently need your help”, says Keisha. “If the New Zealand Government supports this deal, it will not only lift the ban on whaling, but also undo decades of work by Kiwis to protect whales.”

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ENDS

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