Tragic day for humpback whales
Jun 25, 2010
© iStockphoto.com/Brett Atkins
The IWC has buckled under pressure, giving Greenland permission to kill 9 humpback whales each year
The International Whaling Commission has buckled under pressure from Denmark and narrowly approved a proposal for Greenland to hunt nine humpback each year for the next three years, supposedly for subsistence use. WSPA strongly condemns the move.
Despite strong statements of opposition from many governments, acting IWC Chair Anthony Liverpool asked those in opposition not to block this proposal. In a shocking and disappointing u-turn, the 25-strong EU block pledged their support, whilst Australia and numerous Latin American members opposed this highly controversial request.
During the plenary, Australia’s Commissioner Donna Petrachenko stated that any request for Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling must be sustainable and based on genuine needs. And it must meet the criteria for Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling. But WSPA’s 2008 investigation ‘Exploding Myths’ showed that around a quarter of Greenland’s whaling is commercial in nature and it seems that commercial markets are only increasing.
Emily Reeves, WSPA Australia’s Programs Manager, says: “Yet again we see the IWC trading the lives of sentient beings as if they were merely stock. Greenland last caught humpback whales in 1986 and has provided no convincing evidence of a subsistence need to start catching them again. We are extremely disappointed that the IWC has bucked under relentless pressure from Denmark.
“Crude slaughter methods mean that these gentle and charismatic humpbacks will suffer immensely when killed - all to end up on supermarket shelves or to satisfy the appetites and curiosities of tourists in luxury restaurants. Inflicting such immense cruelty in the name of profit is simply unacceptable to WSPA.”