By Bridget Vercoe

After two days and more than 30 closed door meetings, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) acknowledged that no consensus will be reached at this meeting on a proposal which threatened to legitimise commercial whaling.

Organisations, like the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) and the media filed into the meeting room this morning to hear that, unsurprisingly, no deal had been reached.

One by one the country delegates discussed why, in their opinion, the compromise deal had failed. They offered up suggestions on how the IWC could build on the positive foundations which had been laid during the last two years. All agreed that the culture of the IWC had changed. The whaling and conservation countries were now talking and, although not necessarily agreeing, there seemed to be a willingness by all to transform the IWC into a fully functioning body.  

As New Zealand’s IWC Commissioner, Sir Geoffrey Palmer, told the meeting the divisions between the member countries ran deep and the capacity to find a bridge did not seem to currently exist. He acknowledged that the three-year long negotiation process had taken the Commission some way along the road to compromise and thanked Japan for showing real flexibility and willingness to compromise.

He suggested that the negotiation process be paused for a year to allow for a time of rest and reflection.”It may not sound very adventurous, but it may be the best solution.”

You could almost hear the frustration and weariness in his voice. Sir Geoffrey and the New Zealand delegation have clocked up thousands of air miles and even more hours attempting to negotiate this deal.

Whilst we are sorry to hear that no compromise could be reached that would put an end to commercial whaling, WSPA is happy that the whales have been given a reprieve. We urge the IWC member states to use the “cooling period” to consider the inherent cruelty of whaling and work toward maintaining and strengthening the whaling ban.

We are hopeful that one day the IWC will, as the Indian Commissioner stated, be the International Whale Commission rather than the International Whaling Commission.

Despite the obvious rifts within the Commission, all is not lost. Member countries are still coming together to work towards the conservation and welfare of whales. It was inspiring to hear about a workshop which had been held earlier in the year to help prevent the unnecessary suffering of large whales entangled in fishing nets and lines.

The United Kingdom tabled a proposal to host an Animal Welfare and Ethics workshop before next year’s IWC meeting. The proposal was met by overwhelming support from 11 countries, including New Zealand.

The workshop will hopefully give the IWC much needed information on international animal welfare science and policies, and will allow the Commission to make enlightened and progressive decisions on this important issue in future.