Dispute saps bid for whale truce
Andrew Darby; 28/6/08
A new whaling dispute has sapped confidence that United States-led attempts at reconciliation between nations on the issue will gain ground. Whalers supported a humpback quota in the International Whaling Commission yesterday, even though they had no chance of success. They used the opportunity to attack conservation nations’ arguments and predicted that the US reconciliation efforts would fail. The outburst of acrimony dampened Federal Government hopes that the IWC peace process could end Southern Ocean whaling by Japan. The dispute also overshadowed a conservation reform plan put to the meeting by Australia.
See: http://www.theage.com.au/world/dispute-saps-bid-for-whale-truce-20080627-2y3w.html
A whale of an idea
28/6/08; http://blogs.theaustralian.news.com.au/letters/index.php/theaustralian/ comments/a_whale_of_an_idea/
It’s clear that we can’t stop Japanese whaling for scientific research, so why don’t we join them? We could set up research institutes on Australian soil for them to use so they wouldn’t have the trouble of hauling the dead whales all the way back to Japan. And when their scientists had finished their research, ours could take over the carcasses to do their own. And when all that research was finished, we could process and dispose of the whale meat, as fish food, pet food or fertilizer, thus saving the Japanese from any cynical accusations that the meat was all they were really interested in. They would be honoured and delighted by our thoughtfulness and interest in their work. Ross Caughey; Elwood, Vic
Tags: Australia, Environment, Japan, Pacific