Ban on Whaling may be lifted after 24 years
The International Whaling Commission plans to lift the international ban on whaling, which has been in place for more than 20 years. Japan, Norway and Iceland have been using loopholes designed to enable scientific research to hunt approximately 3000 whales a year, ten times as many as in 1993.
 The IWC plans to allow the hunting of restricted numbers of whales, justifying the step by claiming it would create a regulated market and end the illegal trade of whale products. Despite the current total ban, whales have continued to be hunted, which suggests legalising commercial whaling will do nothing to end illegal whale hunting. Indeed, it will make it easier for illegal operations to pass themselves off as legal, as whale hunts will no longer be automatically considered illegal. Establishing whether a hunt is legal will therefore be made even more difficult by the IWC’s proposals.
New Zealand has accused the IWC of attempting to save the dying whaling industry, rather than protect whale populations. Japan has welcomed the IWC’s proposal, but is disappointed because the permitted numbers suggested by the IWC are below the number of whales captured annually by Japan, allegedly for scientific research.
FOUR PAWS maintains that damaging animal welfare and conservation legislation by lifting existing bans is not a real solution to the problem of illegal whaling. It is illogical and irresponsible to lift this ban and compromise the welfare and conservation of whales.
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