Australia opposed to commercial whaling proposal

Australiais very concerned by Japan's latest proposal to lift the global moratorium oncommercial whaling at the next International Whaling Commission meeting inSeptember 2018.

Australiaremains steadfastly opposed to all forms of commercial and so-called'scientific' whaling and continues to be a leader in seeking to strengthen theInternational Whaling Commission to protect whales.

Westrongly support the 30-year global moratorium on commercial whaling and willvehemently oppose any attempts to undermine the processes that support it,including through changed voting regimes or the establishment ofcatch-limits for commercial whaling.

Australiaand Japan enjoy a deep and strong bilateral relationship, but we disagree onthe issue of whales. At the Commission meeting in September, Australia will becalling on like-minded nations to reject Japan's proposal.

Australiahas worked tirelessly to see an end to commercial whaling. We have co-sponsoredresolutions to improve the operation and scrutiny of the Commission and itsscientific committee; we have supported the establishment of new sanctuarieswhere whales can thrive in their own environment; we initiated the Commission'stwelve-nation Southern Ocean Research Partnership supporting non-lethal whaleresearch; and we successfully took Japan to the International Court of Justice.

TheAustralian Government will continue to advocate strongly and consistently forthe cessation of commercial whaling and so-called 'scientific' whaling. Thescience is clear, you do not need to kill whales in order to study them.