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THE HAGUE--Less than a week after the
International Whaling Commission (IWC) voted to uphold its moratorium
on commercial whaling, Parties to the Convention on International Trade
in Endangered Species (CITES) today rejected an effort by whaling
nations to undermine a related ban on international trade in whale
products. The proposal, brought by Japan, was seen as a first
step in rolling back protections for the great whale species protected
from international trade by CITES. It was resoundingly
rejected. “This is the fifteenth time whaling
nations have tried to reopen trade since 1997, and the fifteenth time
they’ve failed,” said Carroll Muffett, Deputy
Campaigns Director for Greenpeace USA.
“It’s high time they accepted that commercial whale
trade has no place in the modern world.”
Japan’s proposal was seen as
an attempt to bypass the moratorium on commercial whaling, maintained
by the IWC since 1986. Its rejection today comes on
the heels of key victories for whale conservation at the 59th IWC
meeting held in Anchorage, Alaska, last week. At the IWC
meeting, Japan withdrew a proposal to overturn the commercial whaling
ban for four coastal whaling communities after it was unable to secure
the votes needed for adoption.
The IWC also passed a resolution that
reaffirmed the need to maintain the commercial whaling ban and called
on CITES to maintain its restrictions on the whale trade.
“The message to Japan and its pro-whaling allies is
unequivocal. “Both the IWC and CITES have spoken in favor of
whale protection and conservation, “said Kitty Block,
director Treaty Law of Humane Society International, “It is
clear that there is no international will to resume commercial whaling
or international trade in their parts”
However, despite losing by a wide
margin today, Japan could still bring its proposal back for
reconsideration before the conference ends. “The likelihood
that Japan would be successful a second time around is very low given
the consistent opposition by CITES Parties to reopening the whale
trade”, said Will Travers, CEO of the Born Free Foundation
and Chairman of the Species Survival Network. “The
more defiantly Japan pushes unwelcome proposals to trade in whales, the
more ground they will lose—eventually, we hope,
they’ll see sense and give whales a much-needed
break.”
For
more information contact:
Carroll
Muffett (in The Hague): 06 4616 2042
Kitty
Block (globally): 1- 240-888-4424
Adam
M. Roberts, Press
Officer,
In The Hague: 06-5213 6798
Globally: 1-202-445-3572
E-mail: press@ssn.org
WORLD FORUM CONVENTION CENTRE
10, Churchillplein NL-2508 THE HAGUE
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