International Whaling Commission

‘The Cove’ pulls no punches in documenting Japanese dolphin hunt

The Cove documents a the hunting of dolphins in one Japanese fishing village.Early on in The Cove, director Louie Psihoyos describes how he assembled an “Ocean’s Eleven”-like team of specialists to infiltrate and expose a secret, brutal, for-profit dolphin-killing operation in Japan. The description fits the film, which is structured more like an action thriller […]

Japan says it won’t hunt humpback whales, at least for now

Under pressure from, well, most of the world to stop targeting humpback whales, Japan has announced it will hold off on its hunt for the imperiled humpback — at least for now. “Japan has decided not to catch humpback whales for one year or two, but there will be no change in our stance on […]

Possible Whaling Majority at the IWC

The International Whaling Commission will gather this Friday in St. Kitts for its annual meeting. For 20 years now, Japan and other pro-whaling nations have done everything in their power to convince the IWC to reverse the whaling moratorium it set back in the '80s.

What remains a mystery is why Japan is so obsessed with the resumption of whaling. Recent polls suggest that fewer than half of Japanese people have ever tried whale meat, and just 1% eat it regularly. Over 2,000 supermarkets have stopped selling it in the last few years, due to lack of demand.

A Bid for a Whale, and It’s About to Set Sail

Japan may have enough votes to set stage for repeal of whaling ban The end of the 20-year-old global commercial-whaling ban is a looming possibility, as pro-whaling Japan may have garnered enough allies to win control of the 66-member International Whaling Commission. The IWC’s pro-whaling contingent now numbers about 35 countries, including some which have […]