Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 4 • Number 5 • 19th March 2004
TO WHALE OR NOT TO WHALE - NEW ARGUMENTS?
TO WHALE OR NOT TO WHALE - NEW ARGUMENTS?
An international coalition of animal welfare organisations has released a new report on the animal welfare implications of modern whaling activities, attempting to inject the aspect of cruelty into a discussion, which has so far mainly concentrated on scientific arguments. Concurrently the German parliament hosted a public hearing aimed at clarifying scientific knowledge on whale management in the lead-up to the next meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC).
Animal welfare - a new argument in an old debate?
The recently released report "Troubled Waters" aims at clarifying whether commercial whaling operations are incompatible with animal welfare standards and should raise animal welfare concerns based on aspects of cruelty and unnecessary suffering. The report thus underlines the amount of animals that do not die instantaneously and inadequate out-dated killing methods, criticising the current IWC criteria for determining the exact time of death in cetaceans. The report singles out Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling as one of the gravest welfare concerns, which — according to the report — so far has been inadequately addressed by the Commission. The study also points to that no regulations — similar to those existing for farm animals — currently exist to protect the welfare of whales during the hunt. Peter Davies, Director General of the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) argues that "the cruelty behind whaling has become obscured in recent years by abstract arguments over population statistics. The fact is that, whether it is one whale or a thousand, whaling is simply wrong on cruelty grounds alone".
The report forms part of a new joint initiative by 140 non-governmental organisations to lobby the IWC to maintain a moratorium on commercial whaling from 1986 (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 13 June 2002) and ban all other whaling. The initiative was launched in a reaction to a Japanese campaign arguing for the sustainable use of whales through sustainable hunting. Several African countries are supporting the Japanese campaign, arguing that sustainable whaling is needed to protect other economically important marine resources.
In Germany the discussion on scientific knowledge continues….
On 10 March the German parliament Committee for Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture held a public hearing aimed at determining whether Germany — traditionally a strong anti-whaling nation — should support the end of the commercial whaling moratorium in the IWC. Scientists from Germany, Norway and Iceland as well as representatives from non-governmental organisations were invited to the hearing to give their expert views on issues such as the level of whale stocks and extinction threats. The parliament described the outcomes of the meeting as "inconclusive" and maintained that scientists did not agree on whether sustainable whaling is a reasonable concept or not.
The arguments supporting the lifting of the commercial whaling moratorium were highlighted by Nordic experts, arguing that Minke whales for example were abundant and could be hunted in a sustainable manner without threatening whale stocks. An expert from Iceland also argued that the export of marine resources was of critical importance to Iceland’s economy and that Iceland would continue to investigate the impact of whales on fish stocks and the marine environment. A representative from Greenpeace on the other hand pointed out that the "whale watching" industry has contributed more to Iceland’s economy than whaling, which however was questioned by other experts. Finally, a representative from IUCN said that because discussions at the IWC had been entirely politicised, and because countries have shown no willingness to compromise, the IWC had not been able to develop a good control system for whaling based on sound scientific arguments.
The IWC will meet for its 56th Session in Sorento, Italy from 13-22 July 2004.
"Suffering of Whales Prompts Global Anti-Whaling Campaign," ENS, 9 March 2004; "Sinnhaftigkeit eines nachhaltigen Walfangs bei Experten umstritten," DEUTSCHER BUNDESTAG, 15 March 2004; "Global anti-whaling campaign launched," WSPA, 9 March 2004.