India concerned about whaling
The recent inconclusive meet of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) at Agadir in Morocco failed to arrive at an agreement to end commercial whaling.
Dilip Kumar, inspector general of forests, wildlife, ministry of environment & forests, expressed regret that no firm decision had been arrived at by the 88 member states especially since 1,200 whales are being hunted every year.
“India has been demanding a moratorium on whaling whether it be undertaken for commercial or scientific purposes,” Mr Kumar pointed out.
India’s official representative at the IWC, A.K. Srivastava said, “The IWC should work to reduce the dependence of communities on whaling by creating alternate livelihoods options through whale watching and eco-tourism. We want conservation of all small cetaceans and India has recently declared the endangered Indo-Gangetic Dolphin a national aquatic mammal.”
Japan is known to kill 650 whales per year under the guise of “scientific research.” The exposure of these killings in Japan by two Greenpeace activists, Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki, led to their arrest and they could possibly face imprisonment of eighteen months. Sixteen thousand Indians, including lawyers, social activists and professionals, have written to the minister for empowerment and social justice Mukul Wasnik calling on the government to take a position on this issue.
The campaign to release these Greenpeace activists is being led by Nobel laureates Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Betty Williams.
“It is disappointing that while Junichi and Toru risked their personal freedom to expose large scale embezzlement and corruption in Japan’s whaling programme, IWC member states have not taken any action to protect the whales,” pointed out Areeba Hamid, Oceans Campaigner, Greenpeace India.
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