Nations Mull Secret Whaling Compromise

Plan would let Japan hunt legally, but decrease slaughter
By Wesley Oliver,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 9, 2008 4:02 PM CDT
Nations Mull Secret Whaling Compromise
Controversial plans to lift the worldwide ban on whaling were presented to a secret meeting of more than 70 governments in London last week. The plans, which have alarmed environmentalists, have been welcomed by both pro- and anti-whaling governments and seek to lift a long stalemate over hunting, enabling...   (Getty Images)

Representatives from more than 70 governments gathered last week at a secret meeting in London to hash out a compromise that would allow Japan to resume commercial whaling for the first time in more than 20 years. Pro- and anti-whaling nations discussed plans to lift the worldwide ban on whaling, but not without raising the ire of environmentalists, the Independent says.

Japan, which kills more than 1,000 whales yearly and sells the meat, frames its expeditions as scientific research. But skirmishes with activists have escalated, and last week one group threw mild acid at Japan's whaling fleet in the Antarctic. Under the plan, Japan would halt its Antarctic missions, but critics say the compromise is unenforceable and doesn’t offer a lasting solution. (More anti-whaling activists stories.)

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