ST. KITTS AND NEVIS -- For the first time in nearly 30 years, Japan and its allies have narrowly secured a simple majority of votes at the annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission in St. Kitts (33:32 with 1 abstention). The pro-whaling simple majority then passed a declaration attacking the moratorium on commercial whaling and whale protection efforts by non-governmental organizations.
The declaration blasts international NGOs as having “self interest campaigns;” it supports the myth that whales jeopardize fish stocks; and it attempts to punch a hole in the commercial whaling moratorium by claiming it is no longer necessary.
“This is a poisonous declaration that will further divide and inflame the IWC. None of this bodes well for the whales,” said Patricia Forkan, President of Humane Society International, the international arm of The Humane Society of the United States, the largest animal protection organization in the U.S.
The one vote that could have prevented the passage of the declaration was cast by Denmark.
“Danish citizens will be outraged when they discover their government’s betrayal of the whales,” Forkan said.
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Quotes from today’s debate:
The Brazilian Comisssioner, Maria Teresa Mesquita Pessoa: the first country to register condemnation. According to the commissioner, the Brazilian Government did not accept anything written in the declaration.
The Australian Commissioner, Dr Conall O’Connell: the declaration “is clearly not meant to be uncontroversial and is intended to divide us.”
The New Zealand Commissioner, Sir Geoffrey Palmer: the declaration is designed to create conflict and discord and deemed it a “suicide mission.”
Humane Society International is the international arm of The Humane Society of the United States, the nation’s largest animal protection organization, with more than 9.5 million members and constituents. The non-profit organization is based in Washington and has numerous field representatives across the country and throughout the world. On the web at www.hsus.org.
