Negative Blogs

International talks to try and stop the hunting of whales have collapsed amid accusations whaling nations like Japan, Iceland and Norway are unwilling to stop the slaughter.

The International Whaling Commission has been negotiating for three years to try and find a new agreement that will limit the number of whales killed every year.

But after two days of closed meetings in Morrocco, it appears the 88 countries involved in the talks have failed to find a common position.

Commercial whaling has been illegal for almost 25 years but there are a number of loopholes such as whaling for ’scientific research’ that allow whaling to continue. About 1,500 animals are killed each year by Japan, Norway and Iceland.

Anti-whaling nations, including the UK, wanted to bring in a quota so that the number of animals killed is limited.

But it was impossible for the IWC to agree a quota that the whaling nations can live with. At the heart of the disagreement is whether to allow any whaling in the Southern Ocean, which is a hunting ground for Japan but is supposed to a be a whale sanctuary.

Anthony Liverpool, acting chairman of the IWC, said the “fundamental positions remained very much apart.”

Monica Medina, US chief delegate, said the American objective remained to “save whales now”.
“After nearly three years of discussions, it appears our discussions are at an impasse,” she said.
Dr Susan Lieberman, director of international policy for the Pew Environment Group, blamed the whaling nations.

“We are deeply disappointed that the governments present here, after more than three years of intense work, could not reach a solution that will benefit whale conservation. In particular, the lack of sufficient flexibility shown by Japan to phase out its whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary prevented a decision from being adopted. Unregulated whaling outside of IWC control, by Japan, Norway, and Iceland, will now be able to continue.”

Some environmentalists have accused Japan of vote-buying, using development aid money and personal favours to swing small, poorer nations to its side in the whaling debate.

But Yasue Funayama, the Japanese whaling commissioner, said her country had offered major concessions to reach a compromise and blamed anti-whaling countries that refused to accept the killing of a single animal.

“We must rise above politics and engage in a broader perspective,” she said.

The whaling commission was created after World War II to conserve and manage whale stocks. A moratorium on commercial whaling was introduced in 1986.

It is thought the moratorium will remain in place but the collapse of the talks means that ships could continue to hunt by using the existing ‘loopholes’.

However there could be other means to stop whaling as Australia has threatened to take Japan to the International Court of Justice to stop the animals being killed in the Southern Ocean.

By Louise Gray

Dead minke whales aboard the flensing deck of the Nisshin Maru research factory ship of the whaling fleet of Japan Photo: ALAMY