More than 50 members of Congress and 20 Conservation Groups Call
for U.S. Leadership to Protect Whales
New Poll Reveals Americans’ Steadfast Support of Strong Action
to Save Whales
Washington
(April 17, 2007) – The “Whales Need US” coalition, an
unprecedented joint effort of 20 U.S.-based environmental,
conservation and animal welfare organizations, representing more
than 15 million people, today urged the Bush Administration to
intensify its efforts to end commercial whaling.
New U.S. poll
results on attitudes toward whaling show the vast majority of the
American public opposes commercial whaling and supports greater
protection for whales, while polling data from Japan shows that a
sizeable majority of the Japanese public do not support whaling in
the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. A national survey of 1000
registered voters conducted on behalf of IFAW (International Fund
for Animal Welfare) by Market Strategies, Inc., in late March found:
-
78% oppose
commercial whaling
-
78% are
concerned about the hunting of whales in the Southern Ocean
Whale Sanctuary
-
59% would be
more likely to vote for a Presidential candidate who took
a firm stand against Japanese whaling
-
More than 50%
would be willing to stop buying Japanese products to
convince the Japanese Government to stop its scientific research
whaling
In a related
initiative, the coalition praised the bi-partisan group of 56
members of Congress, led by Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W. Va.), Chairman of
the House Natural Resources Committee, who sent a strongly worded
letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of
Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, instructing them to fight harder for
whale conservation and against commercial whaling at the upcoming
International Whaling Commission meeting to be held this May in
Anchorage, Alaska. The letter was also signed by the Chairman of
the House Foreign Affairs, Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.), and expresses
the views of the two committee chairmen with oversight authority of
the U.S.'s delegation to the IWC.
The IWC is the
international body charged with managing the world's whale
populations. A moratorium on commercial whaling was established in
1986 by the IWC, yet more than 20,000 whales have been killed since
then for commercial purposes.
"With the IWC
meeting being held on U.S. soil for the first time since 1989, the
upcoming meeting provides an opportunity for the United States to
re-establish itself as a leader on whale conservation," said Rep.
Rahall. "The United States has the opportunity to reverse the
current trend within the commission and work with like-minded
countries to safeguard the moratorium on commercial whaling and
advance a strong conservation agenda that addresses the many and
varied threats that confront the world's whales and dolphins," he
continued.
The Whales Need US Coalition:
American Cetacean Society
Animal Welfare Institute
Cetacean Society International
The Cousteau Society
Defenders of Wildlife
Dolphin Connection
Earth Island Institute
Environmental Investigation Agency
Greenpeace USA
The Humane Society of the United States/Humane Society International
IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare)
International Wildlife Coalition
Natural Resources Defense Council
The Ocean Conservancy
The Pew Charitable Trusts
The Sierra Club
Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society
The Whaleman Foundation
World Society for the Protection of Animals
World Wildlife Fund US
