Fw: WDCS e-newsletter - humpback whale kill in European waters averted

June 27, 2008

Friday, June 27, 2008 12:16 AM

WDCS e-newsletter - humpback whale kill in European waters averted

WDCS Newsletter • June 2008 •

Dear Friend

Good news! Greenland's request to kill humpback whales has been rejected by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) at its meeting in Chile.

A huge thank you to all those who wrote to European Union countries, urging them to vote against the request, which if approved would have seen 50 humpback whales targeted by Greenland for the first time in 20 years. European Union countries voted against the request and their opposition ensured that the humpback whales are safe for now. However, Greenland threatened to bring the proposal back next year.

This is fantastic news for whales and we can't thank you enough for your help.

WDCS continues to call on the IWC to ensure that aboriginal subsistence whaling is properly regulated, including stopping the commercialisation of whale products intended to meet subsistence needs. Greenland’s whaling quota is allocated only to meet the nutritional subsistence needs of its indigenous communities and the sale of whale meat through supermarkets to its entire population of 56,000 people sets a dangerous precedent for whaling around the world.

In other good news from the meeting, Japan withdrew its proposal for a quota of minke whales in its coastal waters. WDCS produced a damning deconstruction of Japan’s proposal and was relieved when the government withdrew the proposal on Wednesday. However, like Greenland, it has threatened to table it again next year.

Meanwhile, across Latin America, the whale watching industry is booming. Results from new research by WDCS and IFAW, reveals that income from whale watching ticket sales more than quadrupled over the past 15 years. The results highlight that responsible whale watching can offer great benefits compared to the narrowly focused, out-of-touch whaling.

As the IWC meeting continues today, WDCS will keep lobbying for the whales.

Thank you again for your support.

Sue Fisher

WDCS Anti-Whaling Campaign Manager

Updates from IWC

For updates on what is happening in Chile, read the WDCS Team Blog.

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