Nearly One-third Of The Whales That Japan Kills Are Pregnant (And Other News From The IWC Meeting)

There's a one-in-three chance that this whale was pregnant before the Japanese killed it

Japanese government data made public at the International Whaling Commission meeting this week revealed that a large number of whales were pregnant or lactating when they were killed by Japanese research vessels. In the 2008-2009 season, the Japanese killed 679 whales. 304 of those whales killed were female, and 192 of those were pregnant when they died. Four were lactating, which means they left behind calves that starved to death.

In other news from the IWC meeting. As predicted, no compromise has been reached at the summit of whaling nations. Japan and Australia have both cranked up the level of their rhetoric, and it’s starting to seem more likely than ever that the IWC could possibly dissolve. All they’ve managed to do is to extend compromise talks for another 12 months.

Also, this week in Portugal, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), argued that whale-watching – a $2.1 billion dollar per year business – is far more lucrative that killing whales for meat. Point in case perhaps, Norway recently suspended its whaling season at the half way point, saying that supply was exceeding demand. Additionally, the World Wildlife Fund, released a report showing that taxpayer dollars Japan and Norway are used to subsidize unprofitable and unpopular whaling industries.