UK IN Whaling Recruitment Drive

[Guest guest]

The UK is stepping up attempts to secure an anti-whaling majority on

the International Whaling Commission (IWC).

 

Last year, pro-hunting nations gained their first IWC majority for 20

years.

 

The British government will publish a brochure this coming week aimed

at encouraging nations opposed to whaling to join the Commission.

 

It says whales are " sensitive, social creatures " , with some species

risking extinction. Japan says these arguments are " old rhetoric and

half-truths " .

 

David Attenborough

Japan, Iceland and Norway, the principal pro-whaling nations, believe

that many stocks are large enough that hunting can be sustainable.

 

They dismiss arguments that whales are special and distinct creatures

as being relevant only in certain cultures.

 

The issue was given added urgency by Iceland's decision in October to

resume commercial hunting, a move which brought diplomatic protest

from Britain and its allies.

 

The UK's recruitment brochure, which will be officially launched next

week, is the most formalised attempt yet mounted by anti-whaling

countries to regain the majority which they lost by a single vote at

last year's IWC meeting, held in St Kitts.

 

Japan believes the western love of whales is culturally specific

It says that protecting whales for future generations is a " global

responsibility " .

 

" Some whales are particularly at risk of extinction because their

populations remain endangered following past exploitation from

commercial whaling, " it continues.

 

In two forewords, the distinguished natural history broadcaster David

Attenborough writes, " There is no humane way to kill a whale at sea " ,

while Tony Blair makes a direct call to arms.

 

" We urge your government to join the UK and the other anti-whaling

nations in the IWC, " writes the British Prime Minister, " to ensure

that our generation meets its global responsibility to protect

whales. "

 

The arguments contained in the brochure were dismissed by Japan's

deputy whaling commissioner Joji Morishita.

 

" It is always depressing to see the same old anti-whaling rhetoric, "

he told the BBC News website.

 

" Its basic position is that commercial whaling automatically means

extinction. As we want everlasting whaling, which is totally

different from the past industrial whaling of western countries which

regarded whales only as an exhaustive industrial material, we would

avoid extinction at any cost. "

 

Mr Morishita also warned that the IWC could break up without

agreement on the eventual return to regulated commercial hunting.

 

 

Japan is regularly accused by conservation campaigners of using

fisheries aid to buy the votes of smaller countries in the IWC.

 

 

In reality, both pro- and anti-whaling blocs have sought to recruit

like-minded members in recent years.

 

At the close of last year's meeting, shocked by their defeat,

commissioners from European and South American countries told me they

intended to step up these efforts. New European Union members, and

those seeking membership, are natural targets.

 

The plan is clearly bearing fruit. Following representations from

anti-whaling countries including the UK, Slovenia joined the IWC last

September, and Croatia followed suit two weeks ago.

 

In theory, their accession overturns the pro-whaling majority

 

But IWC votes are unpredictable, and the British government's

recruitment brochure indicates its intention of securing forces which

can reliably out-vote Japan, Norway, Iceland and their allies.