A proposal to establish a sanctuary for whales in the South Atlantic Ocean was blocked on Thursday at the International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting in Peru.
There were 40 countries in favor of the whale sanctuary, 14 opposed, and three abstentions. If three more countries voted in favor, a 75% majority would be reached, which is necessary for the plan to go ahead.
The whale sanctuary would have banned any commercial hunting of whales within its waters. The sanctuary would extend from the east coasts of Uruguay, Brazil, and Argentina to Western Africa.
“For the past 26 years, nations in the region have battled to create a sanctuary in their waters for whales that face continued threats from commercial whaling,” said Grettel Delgadillo, deputy director of Humane Society International/Latin America.
“It is a tragedy that, once again, the whales have lost the chance for the protection they need more than ever,” she added.
Norway, a key opponent and one of the few remaining countries engaging in commercial whaling, dismissed the sanctuary as unnecessary. Japan and Iceland are the two other nations that continue commercial whaling.
International Whaling Commission (IWC)
The IWC was created in 1946 to regulate whale hunting and protect whale populations.
In 1986, the IWC set a global ban on commercial whaling to help whale numbers recover. While some countries follow this ban, others have objected to it or left the IWC to continue whaling.
Norway and Iceland are members of the IWC. Both countries still hunt whales commercially because they have officially objected to the IWC’s ban on commercial whaling. Japan used to be a member of the IWC but left in 2019.
Follow for daily animal news – Support animal welfare journalism
