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WASHINGTON,
D.C. (June 18, 2008) – Answering a bipartisan call to
encourage the United States to stand up for whales, the House of
Representatives today passed H. Con. Res. 350 by unanimous consent.
In light of the annual International Whaling Commission (IWC)
meeting to be held in Chile this month, House Natural Resources
Committee Chairman Nick Rahall (D-WV) and eight of his colleagues in
the House of Representatives introduced the resolution to send the
message that the United States must not be bullied into submission
at the meeting by pro-whaling interests.
The United States is the current
chair of the IWC, the international body founded over 60 years ago
to be responsible for the conservation of whales. Since that time, a
ban on commercial whaling has been instituted, two sanctuaries have
been established, and attitudes toward whale conservation have
improved. Yet while progress has been made, most of the great whales
still face an uncertain future – one that is made worse by
additional threats in the form of climate change, fishing gear
entanglement, overfishing of prey species, ship strikes, toxic
pollution, and lethal sonar.
However, the biggest threat to
whales comes from the member nations of Japan, Norway and Iceland,
which have flouted the whaling ban and continued to whale for
commercial gain by exploiting loopholes in the IWC Convention. Since
the moratorium was put into effect, these countries have killed more
than 25,000 whales, including over 11,000 who were taken under the
guise of “scientific research.” Just this month, Norway and Iceland
also resumed trade in whale meat with Japan, in flagrant defiance of
an international ban on such trafficking.
Although the United States has been
an outspoken proponent of protecting the whales, most recently, US
officials have not exercised this leadership position. In fact,
rumored deals are said to have been initiated with the whalers. The
ban is now in jeopardy, since the pro-whaling faction has recruited
allied nations to join the IWC and convince fellow members that the
body is unworkable and at an impasse. Once pro-conservation
countries are now on the brink of capitulation and are in desperate
need of leadership. Having led international efforts in the IWC to
adopt the ban on commercial whaling, the United States is the
natural choice for assuming this role, and it must do so before it
is too late.
“This resolution serves to put the
United States back on track and reaffirm its historically strong
position in support of the whales. As current chair of the IWC; the
United States holds a very important role and must extend all
efforts to refocus the body toward its much-needed conservation
aims,” said Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) Research Associate Susan
Millward. “AWI commends the House for quickly enacting this
important resolution.”
A similar resolution, introduced by
Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA), is currently
pending in the Senate.
CONTACT:
Chris Heyde, (703) 836-4300
For over 57 years the Animal
Welfare Institute has been the leading voice for animals across the
country and on Capitol Hill to reduce the sum total of pain and fear
inflicted on animals by humans. To learn more about us, please visit
www.awionline.org.
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