“The fact that so many people across the globe have come
together in a common cause is a loud and clear warning to the
Commissioners in Alaska that they must not fail the whales.”
Greenpeace International Executive Director, Gerd Leipold commented
from the Buenos Aires march in Argentina.
Caught in nets, hit by ships, choked on plastic bags, poisoned
by pollution and starved because of changes in food supply due to
the impacts of global warming – hundreds of thousands of whales die
every year in the oceans. Over the coming week, IWC delegates from
more than seventy nations will spend only a couple of hours
discussing these threats, and the rest of the meeting debating how,
where and why to hunt whales, whether under the guise of science or
simply against the regulations of the Commission.
“With so many other factors impacting whale populations
worldwide, it is incredible that the IWC is still entertaining the
idea of debating commercial whaling,” said Karen Sack, Greenpeace
USA whales project leader, who is attending the IWC meeting. “The
IWC delegates need to make a commitment this year to modernize the
Commission, seriously address the increasing range of threats to
whales, and become a body that works for the whales and not the
whalers.”
The IWC meeting runs from May 28th – 31st.
VVPR info: [email protected]
