MEDIA RELEASE

23 April 2010

NZ Government must reject disastrous new plan to 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 New Zealand’s Country Manager, Bridget Vercoe said: ‘This proposal shows just how out of touch the IWC is with modern values - it is entirely missing the point that blasting conscious animals with exploding harpoons is grossly inhumane. 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 proposal, if passed, 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 Vercoe said, animal welfare and conservation groups are united in opposition to the proposal, which would also mean a 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.’

ENDS

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