Some time ago, I posted a diary stating that the Obama administration was on board with a new IWC plan to, not only continue whaling, but to increase its scope into the Antarctic whale sanctuary. I was roundly chastised. Recent stories have given credence to my contention.
Look, I am an Obama supporter. But if I had to choose between Obama and the destruction of whales, well, I am humpback. Here me roar.
Australia is leading the charge against commercial whaling. It is sad statement that the US is not. During the IWC meetings in March, Australia's was by far the most protective of these magnificent mammals. Australia would like to see an end to commercial whaling.
Unfortunately, the other plan, spearheaded by Japan, Norway and Iceland, and backed by the US, would suspend the 1986 commercial whaling moratorium for 10 years and would assign kill quotas to whaling nations, allowing them to hunt whales for commercial purposes, even in a sanctuary.
The Obama administration is leaning toward supporting that view.
Actor Pierce Brosnan, a terrible James Bond but a fine champion of marine mammals, has said that Reagan was a bigger champion of the whales than Obama.
Is it possible that the Obama Administration will capitulate to a proposed plan that permits Japan, Norway, and Iceland to resume commercial whaling?
As unlikely as it sounds, the answer is yes. The Obama Administration has indeed supported, behind closed doors, a dangerous new proposal to overturn the global whaling ban.
Since President Ronald Reagan first helped usher in the international ban on commercial whaling, every American President has reasserted our nation's strong leadership in the fight to save the whales...
The new policy would put whaling under the direction of the IWC. But there is no enforcement mechanism.
Christian Maquieira, chairman of the IWC, argues that his policy would enhance conservation. However, change.org says that this plan, which the Obama administration is leaning toward supporting would:
* Approving the killing of whales for commercial purposes by Japan around Antarctica and in the North Pacific
* Officially opening the Southern Ocean Sanctuary to whaling, reversing the IWC's own protections adopted in 1994
* Adding new rights for Japan to slaughter whales for profit in its coastal waters
* Allow continued whaling by Iceland and Norway in violation of long-agreed scientific procedures and the global whaling ban.
Environmental groups are outraged and are urging Americans to contact the administration.
Whaling just doesn't make sense anymore. Japan actually has a PR campaign urging its citizens to eat whale meat.
Schoolchildren in the western coastal district of Wakayama are now being offered an unusual addition to their lunch menus. Whale.
The Wakayama education board is supplying whale meat to around 280 schools, to try to promote awareness of the region's whaling traditions.
"We've been practising whaling since the beginning of the 17th century," Tetsuji Sawada, a local education official told the BBC, "but the tradition is dying out."
To make the dish more appetising, the whale is being fried in breadcrumbs, or minced into burgers.
The board had to lobby the government to bring down the price to keep it within their budget.
But aside from all that, whales are magnificent, sentient creatures. If we can't save them, how can we save ourselves? Please call or email the administration to express your dismay/concern over this potential plan. I have no problem with indigenous cultures hunting whales (well, I do, but baby steps, baby steps.)