IWC Voting on Whale Hunting Moratorium Next Week
Tell President Obama to vote “no”on commercial-whaling at the International Whaling Commission’s annual meeting next week.
This is it! It’s the final hour. If you don’t want to see the international commercial-whaling moratorium come to an end, now is the time to make your voice heard. The International Whaling Commission (IWC) is meeting from June 21-25 in Agadir, Morocco to decide the fate of commercial whaling around the globe.
In 1986, the IWC approved a moratorium on commercial whaling, but the number of whales killed annually has been rising to nearly 1,700 last year from 300 in 1990. The reason… the three whaling nations, Japan, Norway and Iceland have either opted out of the treaty or claimed to be taking whales only for legitimate scientific study. Basically, the three countries are exploiting loopholes to continue illegal whaling activities, which unfortunately, may now become legal.
The highly controversial proposal would allow the three whaling countries to continue hunting whales for the next 10 years, although in reduced numbers. Some believe the compromise could ultimately lead to a ban on whaling while others believe the new quotas are not based on scientific research.
Even celebrities such as Pierce Bronson has asked us to call the Obama Administration to stop the new proposal. As of right now, it appears President Obama supports the deal to re-open commercial whaling for the first time in over two decades. So if this is an important issue to you, call the White House at 202-456-1111 or write the President or better yet – do both.
Not surprisingly Greenpeace has also started a petition to hold President Obama to his 2008 promise,
“As president, I will ensure that the U.S. provides leadership… including strengthening the international moratorium on commercial whaling.”
It’s an all-hands-on-deck moment to preserve the international moratorium and save the whales.
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