Japan set to argue its case to end commercial whaling ban as sides set for clash at International Whaling Commission in Brazil
Japan will unveil proposals that outraged conservationists say are a blatant attempt to overturn the hunting moratorium that has largely held together for the past 32 years
Nations on either side of the whale hunting debate are set for a stand-off as the International Whaling Commission (IWC) meets on Monday, with Japan hoping to overturn the 32-year-old ban on commercial whale hunting.
Japan will unveil proposals during the meeting in Florianopolis, Brazil, that outraged conservationists say are a blatant attempt to overturn the hunting moratorium that has largely held together since 1986.
“If Japan’s proposals were accepted it would once again be open season on whales, so this is the most dangerous and reckless attempt to bring back commercial whaling that we have seen in decades,” said Claire Bass, head of Humane Society International UK.
Japan, which exploits a moratorium loophole to hunt whales for “scientific purposes”, argues that recovering stocks of some species justifies a return to “sustainable whaling”.
Brazil is instead trying to rally anti-whaling nations behind a “Florianopolis Declaration,” which states that commercial whaling is no longer a necessary economic activity, favouring increased investment in whale watching.
“Our challenge at this meeting is whether we can bridge the two different ideas or find a situation where we can agree to disagree so that we can see the future rather than just fighting each other,” Joji Morishita, the incoming Japanese commission chairman, said.