Controversial whaling proposal fails at global meeting
(Agadir, Morocco – 23 June 2010) – The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW – www.ifaw.org) announced today that a controversial proposal to legalize whaling has failed at the annual meeting of the
International Whaling Commission (IWC) in Agadir, Morocco.
“Under a cloud of corruption allegations the IWC is taking a safe course, opting for a cooling off period that protects
the moratorium and other IWC conservation measures,” said Patrick Ramage, Director of IFAW’s Global Whale Campaign. “Had
it been done here, this deal would have lived in infamy.”
The proposal, three years in the making, proposed a compromise between whaling and non-whaling nations which regularly
clash at annual IWC meetings. Among the most hotly debated components of the proposal was a plan to overturn the
worldwide ban on whaling, in place since 1986, by allowing legalized hunting of whales by Iceland, Norway, and Japan –
the last three countries still hunting whales commercially. Japan, Norway, and Iceland have illegally killed nearly
35,000 whales since the inception of the moratorium.
“This was an intense three year effort but one conducted behind closed doors and focused on defining terms under which
commercial whaling would continue rather than how it would end,” said Ramage. “The proposal it produced could not
withstand public scrutiny and ignored the overwhelming global support for permanent protection for whales. Any future
process of negotiation should not leave the views, expertise, and perspective of the global NGO community sitting
outside.”
About IFAW (the International Fund for Animal Welfare)
With offices in 15 countries, IFAW (the International Fund for Animal Welfare) saves animals in crisis around the world.
We rescue and provide veterinary care to individual animals and advocate for the protection of entire populations. For
more information visit our website www.ifaw.org
ENDS