IFAW news release: Japanese Vote Buying, Meat Sales Threaten Whal ing Commission

July 15, 2004

It's IWC (International Whaling Commission) time and here is our first release. More to follow in the days leading up to the meeting scheduled for 19-22 July in Sorrento Italy.

Thanks for your interest in IFAW's work,

Kerry

Kerry Branon

Communications Coordinator

International Fund for Animal Welfare

75 Attucks Lane

Hyannis, MA 02601

508-744-2068

kbranon

www.ifaw.org

Japanese Vote Buying, Meat Sales Threaten Whaling Commission

(Sorrento, Italy - 15 July 2004) - On the eve of the 56th annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), the planet's great whales face growing threats from the Government of Japan and countries it has aggressively recruited to join the IWC according to IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare - www.ifaw.org). As delegates from some 50 countries gather in Sorrento for next week's IWC meeting, new information just released by leading researchers suggests illegal hunting of protected whales has continued to supply meat to Japanese markets.

More than 15,000 whales have been killed by Japan, Norway and Iceland since the IWC adopted the commercial whaling moratorium in 1986. Ignoring repeated IWC resolutions, Japan continues to kill hundreds of whales each year in the waters of the North Pacific and the Southern Ocean Sanctuary, an internationally recognized sanctuary in the waters around Antarctica, established by the IWC in 1992.

New information just released by University of Auckland researcher Dr. C. Scott Baker and a team of scientists, based on DNA analysis of product samples, indicates meat from protected sei whales was sold in Japanese markets between 1998 and 2003, despite assurances to the contrary from the Government of Japan. "It appears we have found the smoking harpoon," said Naoko Funahashi, IFAW's Japan representative and member of the research team. "The most likely source of this whale meat is illegal hunting."

Long critical of Japan's refusal to abide by IWC resolutions, IFAW and other conservation groups are now expressing concern that pressure tactics and so-called "vote buying" by Japan could undermine the IWC itself. For the past several years, Japan has openly targeted small, developing countries in what it has called a global "vote consolidation" program. Under the Japanese program, new IWC members from Africa, the Caribbean and the South Pacific are being recruited to vote with Japan in the IWC in return for development assistance and fisheries aid. Other countries are being encouraged to abstain or remain absent from the IWC meeting.

"Japan may actually buy its way to a majority next week" said Bettina Bugeda, Director of IFAW Latin America. "This would be a disaster for the whales, for this forum and for other international institutions. Japan is killing protected whales, selling illegal whale meat and buying votes. They must be stopped."

###For more on next week's IWC meeting and IFAW's whale campaign go to www.ifaw.org

The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW -- www.ifaw.org) works to improve the welfare of wild and domestic animals throughout the world by reducing commercial exploitation of animals, protecting wildlife habitats, and assisting animals in distress. IFAW seeks to motivate the public to prevent cruelty to animals and to promote animal welfare and conservation policies that advance the well-being of both animals and people.

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