I has been a stressful week for us who want to see the whales (and dolphins) safe from the whaling and fishing fleets of Japan, Iceland and Norway...These countries are not only pushing to end a 20 year whaling ban imposed by the International Whaling Commission in 1986, but Norway and Iceland do not recognize the ban and they are actually hunting whales on a commercial scale.
Japan is hunting over 1000 whales per year under a "scientific research program" but the meat ends up in the market.
Clearly they are exploiting this legal loophole allowed by the IWC and it is time for the anti-whaling countries to work to stop this as well.
But how can we expect that to happen when, according to the World Society for the Protection of Animals, anti-whaling nations, particularly the United States, United Kingdom and Netherlands allowed the proposal by Greenland to increase the aboriginal quota of Minke whales to 200 as well as to hunt fin whales to pass.
Fortunately enough, Japan's request for limited minke whale hunts by coastal communities with whaling histories failed.
Japan has long been seeking for a “community whaling” status, which would give it quotas similar to indigenous groups.
Pro-whaling countries are arguing that they don't understand why Japan is being treated differently from other groups with long traditions of whaling.
Could it may be because Japan already hunts over 1000 whales per year using as an excuse their "scientific research program"?
Or maybe because they want to kill Humpbacks as well as Bowhead whales which are still considered endangered species?
Whatever the reason may be, the war is far from over. Japan and the pro-whaling countries will continue to fight to lift the ban and it is up to the rest of the world to stop the killing of one of the most amazing species to live on this planet.
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