Guest guest Posted October 12, 2004 Report Share Posted October 12, 2004 WORLD REJECTS WHALING - AGAIN (Bangkok, Thailand - 12 October 2004) - Today Japan was thwarted in its efforts to convince countries at the CITES conference to reduce the protection of minke whales in a move designed to legitimize whaling. The proposal put on the table by Japan was defeated, with parties voting overwhelmingly to keep the ban on international trade in whale products. Japan is currently killing more than 800 whales per year for so-called ¡®scientific¡¯ research, however this is simply commercial whaling in disguise. Commercial whaling is prohibited under the International Whaling Commission (IWC) moratorium. ¡°Japan¡¯s whaling provides a cover for protected species to be sold on the marketplace. Recent DNA analyses conducted on whale products from Japanese retail shops found a variety of species including some endangered species,¡± said Naoko Funahashi, IFAW¡¯s representative in Japan. ¡°Japan has known of this problem for 10 years but has done little to stop it.¡± ¡°Japan has again been defeated in its attempt to mislead the international community with misinformation in order to support its own national agenda.¡± In 2002, at the last CITES meeting in Santiago, Chile, Japan put a similar proposal on the table, which was rejected after lengthy debate with 53 votes in favour and 66 against. This year, Japan¡¯s proposal to downlist three populations of minke whales from Appendix I to Appendix II was defeated with 67 parties rejecting the proposal, 55 voting in favour and 14 abstentions. ¡°In its proposal Japan claims there are more than one million minke whales worldwide. That figure is out-of-date and includes a population of 760,000 Antarctic minkes that the IWC does not consider valid,¡± said Vassili Papastavrou, IFAW Marine Mammal expert. ¡°Not only was Japan¡¯s proposal littered with misinformation, it was an underhanded attempt to undermine conservation. The main purpose of this proposal was not to enable legitimate trade, but to use CITES to support Japan¡¯s policy of disregarding decisions made by the IWC.¡± In previous CITES meetings Japan has refused to accept the result and has presented a modified proposal to be reconsidered on the last day of the meeting. However, given the lack of support for the proposal in Committee, IFAW is confident that Japan will be defeated again. About IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare) Founded in 1969, IFAW works to protect animals and their habitats. With offices in 15 countries around the world, IFAW works to protect whales, elephants, great apes, big cats, dogs and cats, seals, and other animals. To learn how to help animals, please visit www.ifaw.org. Contact: Erica Martin (IFAW) - Tel: (669) 40 42 645; Email: emartin Editors: For more information visit www.ifaw.org 150ÍòÇúMP3·è¿ñËÑ£¬´øÄú´³ÈëÒôÀÖµîÌà ÃÀÅ®Ã÷ÐÇÓ¦Óо¡ÓУ¬ËѱéÃÀͼ¡¢ÑÞͼºÍ¿áͼ 1G¾ÍÊÇ1000Õ×£¬ÑÅ»¢µçÓÊ×ÔÖúÀ©ÈÝ£¡ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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