Iceland has begun its 100 day whaling season amidst international condemnation. This comes immediately following the failure of an agreement put forward by the International Whaling Commission. The commission proposed to continue a moratorium on whaling but allow a limited amount of whales to be caught by Iceland, Norway, and Japan – the countries that continue to kill whales regardless of the ban.
Norway and Iceland are the only two nations to openly pursue commercial whaling. Japan also pursues whaling but for alleged “scientific research.”
Continue reading VIDEO: Reuters: Iceland: Whaling Season Begins
Paul Watson, leader of the U.S.-based anti-whaling organization, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, is now on an international wanted list for allegedly masterminding the group’s disruption of Japanese whale hunts in the Antarctic Ocean.
International Whaling Commission (IWC) national delegates meeting at Agadir, Morocco, failed to approve a plan that would have legalized commercial whaling in exchange for a gradual reduction in the number of whales killed over a 10-year period.
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama resigned Wednesday squandering a historic electoral mandate in less than a year and leaving his Democratic Party of Japan without a leader before a pivotal July election.
