Save the whales

• Feb. 23 by Emma Williams (1)

It was announced recently that Governments are planning to legalise the commercial killing of whales in Japan for the first time in more than twenty years. These plans will be presented to a special meeting of the official International Whaling Commission (IWC) early March 2009.

Whaling is the hunting and killing of whales for commercial uses such as meat and oils, and its origins date back to at least 6,000 BC. Due to whaling, many of these giant mammals are now listed as endangered species.

All commercial whaling has been banned internationally since 1986, although Japan and Iceland continued to slaughter these creatures, using a loophole in commercial law which allows whales to be hunted for scientific “research”. However, over time Japan has steadily increased the amount of whales being hunted beyond anything that could be justified as for research. The international body has been powerless to stop this, and so meetings have been held in order to find a compromise.

If the plans are approved then the Japanese will be allowed to hunt Minke whales, which are not classed as endangered, near the coast for an initial five-year period. There are fears that if the plans go ahead, then other nations will seek similar deals with the International Whaling Commission, and it could lead to legal whaling being revived worldwide.