Marine conservationists Sea Shepherd are claiming Japan's decision to abandon whaling around Antarctica as a victory, though their battle will go on with the Asian nation moving to resume hunting elsewhere. On Boxing Day, Japan announced it was leaving the International Whaling Commission so it could resume commercial hunting of the marine mammals in their territorial waters.
By a vote of 38 in favour to 21 opposed, the South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary (SAWS) failed to meet the International Whaling Commission’s (IWC) required 3/4 majority to pass and be established.
Greenpeace and a vast coalition of environmental groups are calling on the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to establish a sanctuary in the South Atlantic Ocean that would protect Southern Hemisphere whales from commercial whaling for their entire lives.
International Whaling Commission's (IWC) annual meeting closed after a tense final day when relations between opposing blocs came close to collapse. Latin American nations attempted to force a vote on a proposal to create a whale sanctuary in the South Atlantic.
Nine Latinamerican countries that make up the “Buenos Aires Group” have called on Japan to put an end to “scientific whaling” as vessels take off for the new hunting season in the Southern Hemisphere.