ACTION ALERT--THE WORLD'S WHALES NEED YOUR HELP!

[Guest guest]

Dear Activists:THE INTERNATIONAL WHALING COMMISSION NEEDS TO HEAR FROM YOU! Article VIII of the International Whaling Commission’s founding treaty, allows IWC participant governments [i.e., Japan, Norway, Iceland, etc.] to issue special permits to themselves to conduct 'scientific' whaling. This provision was not originally intended by the drafters, to allow for large scale lethal research or for the commercial use of ‘byproducts’ [e.g, selling whale meat]. However, these and several other countries are ABUSING and exploiting Article VIII by stepping up their cetacean kill quotas and have even begun slaughtering endangered whales species [humpbacks] . WE CAN NOT ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN!! The Article VIII loophole must be closed--NOW!! This unsustainable, inhumane, out-of-control assault will soon signal the complete demise of cetaceans if not halted. Please sign this petition. EMAIL THE IWC [use the letter below for

talking points]...and REPOST THIS ALERT/PETITION ON OTHER AR LISTS, WEBSITES & BLOGS. International Whaling Commission: Email: secretariat [if this email address is blocked/masked when posted, then go here for full email address]: http://whales.greenpeace.org/campaign/7354 100,000 SIGNATURES ARE NEEDED! PLEASE SIGN NOW & PASS IT ON! http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/194508729 THE FOLLOWING LETTER WILL BE ATTACHED TO THE PETITION FOR PRESENTATION TO THE INTERNATIONAL WHALING COMMISSION: We the undersigned, do hereby protest Article VIII of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, and demand that the existing treaty be amended to close the so called 'scientific' whaling loophole. Exploitation of Article VIII, resulting in escalating whaling quotas by Japan, Norway and most recently Iceland, clearly point to an increasingly

unsustainable, inhumane, out-of-control trend which will soon signal the complete demise of our cetaceans, if not stopped immediately. Cetaceans face ever-increasing threats to their survival due to global warming, overfishing and pollution. Slow reproductive rates and an unacceptably prolonged and cruel manner of slaughter dictate that cetaceans should be spared whaling in ANY form. The IWC must encourage non-lethal methods of cetacean study, revoke Article VIII and devise ways to implement protections for cetaceans, worldwide, including REAL consequences for those nations in violation of the moratorium. ALL whaling--whether it be categorized as commercial, scientific or subsistence--is brutal, archaic, intolerable and must be relegated to the past and ENDED PERMANENTLY. On behalf of our whales, thank you for taking action! Brennan Browne

Got a little couch potato?

Check out fun summer activities for kids.