A huge blow for the conservation of the world’s whales

The conservation of the world’s whales has taken a huge blow today, with pro-whaling nations regaining control of the International Whaling Commission (IWC).
 
A vote on the “St Kitts and Nevis Declaration” demonstrated that the pro-whaling nations have seized control of the Commission for the first time in decades; securing  a simple majority of votes on a declaration in favour of whaling by a number of countries. The declaration which declares that the moratorium on commercial whaling is invalid secured 33 votes in favour, 32 against and an abstention from China. All European counties opposed the statement except Denmark which voted in favour.
 
The ban on commercial whaling, brought into effect 20 years ago by the IWC to save whales decimated by decades of unregulated and unsustainable whaling, is now dangerously close to being overturned. With Japan and other pro-whaling nations now holding the majority of votes, the IWC will be driven to abandon its conservation and welfare mandate and refocus exclusively on whaling.
 
Despite the overall success of the 20 year moratorium on commercial whaling, Japan, Norway and Iceland have continued to hunt whales through legal loopholes in the IWC’s founding treaty. Until now, a majority of IWC members believed that this whaling defied the spirit of the moratorium and undermined the IWC.
 
However, in recent years, a growing number of small and poor developing countries, with no real interest in whaling, have joined the IWC in support of Japan. As more pro-whaling countries joined, the pro-conservation majority rapidly lost control. With the arrival this year of the Marshall Islands and Cambodia, the tipping point was finally reached and Japan seized command of the Commission.
 
Spokesperson for WDCS, Philippa Brakes said: “This is a real blow for the world’s whales. Not only is whaling incurably inhumane, it has proven impossible to regulate. The IWC’s previous attempts to control commercial whaling under a pro-whaling majority were so disastrous that some populations have still not recovered from the slaughter. Whales need the continued protection of the IWC.  If whaling nations remain in the driving seat, the IWC will be pushed rapidly towards a resumption of commercial whaling that will spell disaster for the whales. This is a wake up call for the world to take back the IWC, and wake up to the call of the whales, before it is too late. It also needs to be a wake up call for the people of Denmark that their government is not representing their views in this forum. Denmark’s vote tipped the majority in favour of the whalers.
 
In discussing the vote on the St Kitts Declaration some of the conservation minded nations stated that they do not recognise Iceland as a member nation of the Commission and therefore that its vote should not be taken in to account. Many countries who voted against the declaration, disassociated themselves from it after the vote, noting that it was not tabled in the form of a resolution, but was a statement of a group of governments, and thus could not represent the view of the Commission.

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Source: WDCS