The 88 countries who are members of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) today agreed to meet in closed session for two days in Agadir, Morocco, to decide whether to adopt a draft plan which would allow Norway, Iceland and Japan to legally hunt whales around Antarctica and elsewhere for 10 years in exchange for a gradual drop in the number killed.
The EU, led by Britain, adopted a common negotiating position at the weekend which rules against the resumption of any commercial whaling. But the US and New Zealand have continued to strongly back the package of measures proposed by the chair of the IWC.
In a move that took many people by surprise, three of the world's largest international non-government groups, Greenpeace, WWF and the Pew Environment Group, today said they were prepared to see commercial whaling resumed if six conditions were met.
In a joint statement they demanded: an end to whaling in the Southern Ocean; an end to trade in whale meat and products; the elimination of unilaterally decided whaling quotas; an end to hunts of endangered whale species; putting science at the centre of IWC decisions and prevention of objections or reservations by IWC members if the moratorium is lifted. Read the full report here.
Source: John Vidal, Environment Editor, Guardian, UK
