Norway lodged an official objection to the ban in 1982 and continues to hunt minke whales in the North Atlantic.
Iceland left the IWC in 1992 but rejoined in 2003 with a reservation to the memorandum. It began commercial whaling in 2006.
Greenpeace have recently discovered that much of the meat from last year's Icelandic commercial catch of endangered fin whales was discarded in a public waste dump outside reykjavik.
Japan conducts commercial whaling in the Antartic and North Atlantic under a loophole in the IWC. They are killing whales for the purposes of 'Research'. The meat from these 'research' whales is packaged and sold on the market.
A recent poll shows that 95% of Japanese people have never or rarely eat whale meat which is why 5,000 tons is in cold storage, unsold and unwanted.
The same poll suggests that 69% of Japanese people do not support whaling.
Help the Whale's Details
Status:
Single
Zodiac Sign:
Aquarius
Help the Whale is in your extended network view more
Hi there. I'm a humpback whale and although we were nearly hunted to extinction 40 years ago, recently life has been pretty good.
Big in Japan
But you know what, Japan intends to start killing us again on a massive scale with those huge harpoon guns that penetrate our skin a foot deep and then explode inside us. Not something that my whale brothers are looking forward to.
The hunting of our magnificent, diminishing species has been banned all over the world for over 40 years. This is in effect globally and the majority of countries involved have continued to support the ban, which is great.
Overturn the ban?
However, there is a big meeting that takes place annually called the IWC (International Whaling Commission) where each countries government has the opportunity to vote to overturn the ban.
Deep blue sea or blood red sea?
Unbelievably, the governments of six beautful, turquoise-water Caribbean countries (Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines) are being 'supported' by the Japanese government to vote AGAINST the banning of Whale hunting in Caribbean waters.
Yup, those stunning islands of Antigua etc, are going to vote for killing whales and this will allow Japan to kill 50 more humpback whales next year. Can you believe it?
How can you help?
Firstly, you could help by sending a short message to the government officials involved with each country. You can find their contact details on www.caribbeanwhalefriends.org or alternatively you can email ALL of them in one go by CLICKING HERE
Then, you could help spread the word by adding this profile to your friends list, sharing the TV ad above on your own profile, sending bulletins and generally telling people about www.myspace.com/helpthewhales. With your help we could really make a difference.
HAPPY NEW YEAR! I wish you lots of LOVE, HAPPYNESS, SUCCESS and PEACE for 2008, which is the year of infinity "8" and infinite possibilities (even the fish in the sea already knew about it ;)!
Baby beluga in the deep blue sea, swim so wild and you swim so free. heaven above, and the sea below, and a little white whale on the go. when it’s dark, you're home and fed, curl up snug in your water bed. moon is shining and the stars are out, good night, little whale, goodnight. goodnight.
I have "the Earth" on my top friends, you should take a look on that space, I'm sure "she" will help with anything that has to do with "her"...You are still on my top friends.
