Australia Calls for Ban on Whaling

Australia will not support an international initiative to allow limited commercial whaling and instead calls for a total ban on whaling The Council of Experts of the International Whaling Commission proposes strict quotas for Japan, Norway and Iceland for the next 10 years. These countries continue to hunt whales bypassing the 1986 moratorium. The Council of Experts believes that the introduction of such strict restrictions will improve the situation and allow it to be monitored. In order for the International Whaling Commission's proposal to introduce quotas for whalefighting to be adopted, the support of 75% of the commission's members is required. Australia's Environment Minister Peter Garrett said the Commission's proposal was not good enough and suggested a total end to whale hunting in the Southern Ocean within 5 years. Australia has secured the support of its neighbour New Zealand, as well as some countries in South America and Europe. Secretary Garrett is pushing for international sanctions on Japan if a diplomatic agreement is not reached. on this issue. In 2008-09, Japan’s whaling ships destroyed 1,004 whales, 681 of them in the waters of the Southern Ocean. Author: Yulia Konovalova Author's personal page: http://www.personalguide.ru/guides outside/2/77/