AR-News: (NZ) Global anti-whaling campaign launched

[Animalara2003 at aol.com]

Tuesday, 9 March 2004, 11:04 am
Press Release: RNZSPCA 
Global anti-whaling campaign launched 
- newly released report exposes the cruelty behind whaling - 
A new report, 'Troubled Waters', is being released today to mark the launch 
of a global campaign against whaling. Key scientific and practical evidence is 
brought together for the first time to highlight the true extent of the 
cruelty inherent in the modern day killing of whales. More than 1,400 whales are 
expected to die this year alone. 
The Royal New Zealand SPCA is part of an unprecedented coalition of over 140 
non-governmental organisations in more than 55 countries, led by the World 
Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA). The coalition's 'Whalewatch' 
campaign is lobbying the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to call a halt to 
all commercial and scientific whaling operations, maintain the current ban on 
commercial whaling and bring the issue of cruelty back to the fore. 
Peter Blomkamp, Chief Executive of the Royal New Zealand SPCA, said, "The 
cruelty behind whaling has become obscured in recent years by abstract arguments 
over population statistics. The fact is that, whether it is one whale or a 
thousand, whaling is simply wrong on cruelty grounds alone." 
Although commercial whaling has been banned since 1986, over 20,000 whales 
have been killed since the ban came into force. The technology used for killing 
whales has altered little since the 19th century, when the grenade tipped 
harpoon was invented. In the constantly moving environment in which whales live 
and are hunted, there are inherent difficulties in achieving a quick clean kill. 
Despite its destructive power, the harpoon often fails to kill outright and 
some whales take over an hour to die.





full story:

http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PO0403/S00067.htm 
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