CAMPAIGN VIDEO: STOP ICELAND'S ILLEGAL WHALING 17AUG11

THE NRDC and Sanctionwhaling.org are continuing the campaign for Pres Obama to impose sanctions in Iceland for their illegal whaling. Check out this video and then click the link or header to participate in this vital action for whales....
http://www.sanctionwhaling.org 

WHALES IN DANGER, HELP STOP ICELAND'S ILLEGAL WHALING from NRDC 18FEB11

SEA SHEPHERD has been waging a very successful campaign against Japan's whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, and this year's Operation No Compromise may turn out to be the most successful in the whale wars. Iceland continues it's illegal whaling under the media radar. Please participate in this action from the NRDC calling on the Obama administration to impose trade sanctions on Iceland and keep them in place until they honor the bans on whaling as established by the ICC International Whaling Commission.

Whales in Danger Help stop illegal whaling Before the international moratorium on commercial whaling was established in 1986, an average of 40,000 whales were hunted and killed every year. Today, that number is dramatically smaller, but countries like Iceland continue to flout international law by hunting whales. In recent years, Iceland has increased its self-allocated quotas, killing 60 minke whales and 148 endangered fin whales in 2010 alone. The country also exported more than 750 tons of whale meat and other whale products -- a sharp increase from previous years. In light of these alarming developments, NRDC and more than a dozen other organizations are asking the Obama Administration to certify Iceland under the Pelly Amendment of the Fishermen's Protective Act, which allows the government to impose trade sanctions against another country for undermining conservation agreements. Administration officials have publically condemned Iceland's disregard for the whaling ban, but the country has been turning a deaf ear to such international criticism. Ask the Obama Administration to impose trade sanctions against Iceland for its escalation of commercial whaling and trade in whale products. » Take action against Iceland's illegal whaling.

Wikileaks Reveals Sea Shepherd is a Serious Concern to Japan’s Illegal Whaling Operations 3JAN11

Wikileaks has revealed that the Japanese government views Sea Shepherd Conservation Society as a very serious threat to their illegal whaling activities. In a classified U.S. Department of State document released by Wikileaks to the El Pais newspaper in Spain, the Japanese Deputy General Director for the Japanese Fisheries Agency Mr. Yamashita, pointed out that “the harassment of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society had kept the Japanese whaling fleet from reaching its quotas these last few years.” There it is! For all the critics who have been saying the anti-whaling campaigns have not been effective, Sea Shepherd holds the same position as the Japanese Fisheries Agency that the campaigns have been very effective, so effective in fact that Sea Shepherd has been discussed in high-level talks by Japanese government representatives with the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The following is the full document release published by the Spanish newspaper El Pais on January 2, 2011.
Captain Paul Watson's comments are added in bold when relevant.

From the El País newspaper:

FAILED AGREEMENT BETWEEN USA AND JAPAN TO REDUCE WHALE HUNTING

Tokyo demanded more severe measures against the ecological pirates that harass their fleet – Hillary Clinton agreed but Australia stopped the agreement.
Japan was willing to reduce its whaling quota and the USA was also willing to contribute actively to the agreement. The most persistent petition from the Japanese fishing agency was aimed at achieving more harsh measures in the penal persecution of the ecological pirate group Sea Shepherd, founded by an American that left Greenpeace to organize more firm actions against the predators of the sea. In this article in the series of American diplomatic documents filtered by Wikileaks to EL PAIS, the details of this failed pact are told.

Captain Paul Watson:  The reason that Sea Shepherd has named this year’s campaign Operation No Compromise is precisely because of this deal that the U.S. and New Zealand were trying to make with Japan, supported by Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund, to allow Japan to have a legal quota in return for cutting their quota in the Southern Ocean.  The paragraph above is incorrect in stating, “Sea Shepherd was founded by an American.” I was a Canadian citizen when Sea Shepherd was founded.

Japan and the USA achieved an initial agreement to reduce the capture of whales in the supposedly Japanese scientific program. One of the conditions set by Tokyo and that the USA accepted, according to the confidential documents obtained by Wikileaks, was to act together against the Sea Shepherds, ecological pirates, an NGO whose emblem is a skull and whose ships - always painted in black- can be seen from freeing tuna fish from the farms in the Mediterranean to harassing Japanese whalers.

Captain Paul Watson: This initial agreement was a betrayal by the Obama administration against the whales. The trade-off was a reduction of the Southern Ocean kill quota in return for legalizing Japanese whaling in the North Pacific. Sea Shepherd had already reduced the kill quotas for the previous four years therefore, nothing would be achieved with such a compromise.

On the 4th of November 2009, the US representative for the International Whaling Commission (IWC) Monica Medina met with the chief of the Japanese fishing agency, Katsuhiro Machida, in Tokyo. Medina said that “ there are reasons for Japan to reduce its present fishing quotas” and claimed that she would work so that the EU and Australia wouldn’t veto the agreement. The IWC was working on a plan that would halve the Japanese quota and save 14000 whales in 10 years. The director of the Japanese fishing agency, Katsuhiro Machida, pointed out that there were matters outside of the IWC that influenced Japan´s position. One of these was “the violent protests of Sea Shepherds, that could limit Japan’s negotiating flexibility” and that “ the Netherlands should act against the Sea Shepherds” since they use the Dutch flag as well as “appreciate the initiative of the US government in facing the tax exempt status of the organization”. Tax exemption is a system that permits US NGO´s to deduct tax payments. Sea Shepherd was founded in the USA in 1981 by Paul Watson who four years earlier had left Greenpeace. Medina replied that she “ thought that the US government was capable to prove that the group doesn’t deserve its tax-exempt status due to aggressive and harmful actions”.

Captain Paul Watson: Medina failed to convince the EU and Australia to support the compromise. Japan seemed to be obsessed with Sea Shepherd’s interference against their whaling activities at this meeting. Japans request for the Netherlands to act against Sea Shepherd failed to solicit any action from the Netherlands. Monica Medina of course had no authority to speak on the issue of tax status because she was not authorized to do so by the Internal Revenue Service or the U.S. Department of State. No harmful or aggressive actions have been proven against Sea Shepherd and no charges have been filed against Sea Shepherd by Japan or any other nation over the issue of whaling in the Southern Ocean.

On the 14th of November the State Department sent a confidential cable signed by Hillary Clinton to its key embassies: in Japan, Australia and New Zealand. In the document they pointed out that the existence of new governments in the US and Japan- that in August elected a Democratic Party government- offered a “unique opportunity” to reform the IWC.
Both countries agreed to work to “achieve a significant reduction in the actual fishing quotas of Japan”. Also, Tokyo would accept to not hunt more humpback or minke whales in the southern hemisphere where the pressure from Australia and the ecologists is constantly growing. In exchange the US would support the legalization of “small scale and sustainable whaling activities off the coasts of Japan” and the ratification of laws that would “guarantee security in the seas”. This sentence hides the Tokyo petition to act against Sea Shepherds. The 5th of January 2010 a Japanese fishing boat crashed an ecologist ship, the Ady Gil. This ship sunk in port and who was then its helmsman, Pete Bethune, claimed in the New Zealand press that it was sunk by the ecologists to achieve publicity, something that the NGO denies.

Captain Paul Watson: The United States and the Netherlands have not taken any action against Sea Shepherd in any form. The report states that the Ady Gil was sunk in port. This is incorrect. The Ady Gil was rammed by Japanese whaling vessel the Shonan Maru #2 some 1,400-miles away from the nearest port.  Pete Bethune was captain of the Ady Gil, a vessel owned by a Mr. Ady Gil, not Sea Shepherd. The vessel was unsalvageable. Pete Bethune’s claim that he was ordered to scuttle the vessel is untrue. It was his boat and only he could make such a decision. The vessel was not scuttled, it was abandoned, and this decision to abandon the vessel was made by Captain Peter Bethune.

The cable asks to achieve an interim agreement to reduce the whaling quota. The dispatch to its delegations asks to push forward the reform at the IWC “at the highest levels possible”. Its argument is that “the IWC hasn’t worked for many years due to the polarization of its members”.
In 1985 the IWC (where 88 countries are represented) agreed to a moratorium in the commercial fishing of whales. Iceland and Japan didn’t consider themselves to be bound to the agreement and kept hunting whales. Japan did initially sign but later followed its example. Under a so-called scientific program, Japan hunts around 850 minke whales (Tokyo insists that there are some 100,000 specimens left) and another 100 whales from other species.
The agreement was considered a great advancement in favor of whales, fished to almost extinction in the first half of the 20th century: since the moratorium was approved each year the IWC meeting ends in nothing. The commission has to grant any change with a 75% of votes that explains its paralysis. Therefore the State Department cable admits that: ”we know there is an important issue related with the security of Japanese investigation vessels that we have to deal with”.
It’s a way of mentioning Sea Shepherd, a recurring theme. The Japanese exterior vice minister, Shuji Yamada, informed the US that this was “the last chance” to achieve an agreement with the IWC and repeated Japans petition to act against the organization “that creates dangerous situations in the sea”. The US answered that “it gives maximum priority to the security of the ships and life in the high seas” and added that “if they discovered any violation of US laws they would act”. Tokyo answered back that “it would be easier for Japan to move forward in the negotiations at the IWC if the US acted against the Sea Shepherds”.

Captain Paul Watson: The fact is that Sea Shepherd has not violated a single American law, and therefore the U.S. government has no cause to act against a U.S. organization and its U.S. citizens merely at the pleasure of Japan to request that it does so. There is no valid cause for the U.S. government to acquiesce to Japan’s demand in this regard. The report states that Japan’s minke whale quota is 850 when in fact it is 935.

The deputy general director at the Japanese fishing agency, Yamashita, pointed out that, according to another cable, “the harassment of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society had kept the Japanese whaling fleet from reaching its quotas these last few years”. Yamashita, according to the Tokyo embassy confidential cable, underlined that “the Japanese government would feel pressured if the Sea Shepherds harassment continued even after an agreement would be made at the IWC to reduce the quota”. The US representative answered that “the US government was worried about security of life on the seas and was looking into Sea Shepherd activity”.

Captain Paul Watson:  The U.S. government may have very well looked into Sea Shepherd’s activities and if they did so, then they obviously did not find any irregularities or unlawful activities because Sea Shepherd was never contacted by any U.S. government official in connection with this matter. For Sea Shepherd, the most important part of this document is the declaration by Japan that Sea Shepherd has been responsible for the whaling fleet not reaching their quotas for the last few years. This statement completely validates Sea Shepherd’s actions as effective.

The past 4th of February, the Australian environment minister Peter Garrett told the embassy in Canberra that the proposal was “unacceptable” for the Australian government and that they would need to create a sanctuary in the Antarctic.
In June 2010 the IWC met in Agadir (Morocco). In spite of Japan announcing that they had shed “blood and sweat” in the agreement, they accepted in reducing the quotas but would not reduce them to zero. Sea Shepherd kept with the struggle and the past 31st of December announced that they has located the Japanese whaling fleet. Just yesterday they was a first serious skirmish between these ecologists and three Japanese harpooners. Nothing has changed.

Captain Paul Watson: The attempt to compromise with Japan failed in Agadir and New Zealand. The U.S. and Japan’s proposal was voted down by the majority led by Australia, the European Union, and the Latin American nations. It was an embarrassing blow to the both the U.S. and New Zealand, as well as to the World Wildlife Fund and Greenpeace for supporting the compromise. Sea Shepherd’s position is that only a zero quota is acceptable because the area the Japanese conduct their lethal activities in is designated as the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.   

The Legitimacy of Sea Shepherd’s Conservation Activities

Position of Sea Shepherd regarding the Japanese Whaling Activities in the Southern Ocean
Sea Shepherd harrasses the Japanese whaling factory ship Nisshin MaruThe Japanese government and the Institute for Cetacean Research (ICR) consistently refer to Sea Shepherd Conservation Society as “eco-terrorists” and “pirates.”  However, Sea Shepherd has not been charged with any crime by any nation including Japan for interventions against Japanese whaling activities in the Southern Ocean. Sea Shepherd has not been reprimanded by the United States, Australia, New Zealand or the Netherlands. I have not been reprimanded as a citizen by the United States or Canada. We have not committed any crime nor have we injured a single Japanese whaler.
Sea Shepherd's ships may utilize Australian and New Zealand ports for supplies and fuel. Japanese whalers are not permitted the use of Australian or New Zealand ports. The Australian Federal Court has found Japan to be in contempt of an Australian Federal Court ruling barring Japan from killing whales in the Australian Antarctic Territory.
The position of Sea Shepherd is that Japanese whalers are targeting endangered humpback and fin whales and threatened Minke whales within the territory of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, and in violation of the global moratorium on commercial whaling worldwide. They are illegally refueling their ships below the 60^th degree of latitude, and they are illegally discharging offal from the whales into the waters of the Antarctic Treaty Zone in violation of the Antarctic Treaty.
Sea Shepherd welcomes and has always welcomed discussion with government agencies relevant to these matters. Our position is that we are not protesting whaling in the Southern Ocean, but we are intervening against what we see as a clear violation of international conservation law by Japanese whalers. In the absence of enforcement by signatory members of the International Whaling Commission and the Antarctic Treaty, we have no choice as an international non-governmental organization but to intervene in accordance with the United Nations World Charter for Nature.
If Japan’s accusation that Sea Shepherd’s are “pirates and eco-terrorists” are to be believed, then these questions must be asked: How is it that Sea Shepherd’s ships can use New Zealand and Australian ports but the Japanese whalers are banned from entry into Australian and New Zealand ports? How is it that none of my officers nor I have been charged for intervention and interference with Japanese whaling? How is it that the Dutch government has not reprimanded our Dutch registered ships, and the Australian government has not reprimanded our Australian flagged ship? Why would Australia give the Gojira a flag if they considered us “pirates and eco-terrorists?”
Sea Shepherd is defending a whale sanctuary whereas the whalers are slaughtering whales in a whale sanctuary. Sea Shepherd is taking every precaution to not injure any of the whalers yet the whalers are intent upon causing bodily harm to Sea Shepherd’s crewmembers.
The whalers are involved in bribery scandals, vote buying, and corruption. I do not believe that the United States government wishes to side with a scandal-riddled subsidized enterprise that involves defending the slaughter of whales in an established international whale sanctuary.
Sea Shepherd continues to implement a campaign of intervention against illegal whaling operations in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, while exercising extreme caution not to cause bodily harm to any whaler and not to violate any international laws. Sea Shepherd has not committed a crime. Sea Shepherd has not been charged with committing a crime and Sea Shepherd has no intention of committing a crime.
The Japanese whaling industry is conducting criminal operations by targeting endangered and protected whales inside the boundaries of an established international whale sanctuary. They are also in violation of a global moratorium on commercial whaling by using subterfuge to claim their whaling is “scientific,” all while utilizing bribery to secure the necessary votes to support their bogus claims.

Operation No Compromise

NRDC BIOGEMS NEWS 21JUL10

Email Address:   Hello, Activists! Join us on Facebook and be part of our BioGems Defenders community! Join Us on Facebook! Connect with other BioGems Defenders and get the latest campaign updates on our Facebook page. "Good to see other people who truly care about our Earth and Wildlife." -- From our Facebook wall Bug Spray DEET vs. natural alternatives in this issue of This Green Life. BioGems Update A big thank you to BioGems Defenders who recently sent more than 75,000 messages to oppose BP's latest plans for drilling in the Arctic. BioGems Defenders: 587,102 Action Messages Sent: 13,635,854 » See the timeline of victories we've won To Do Even More You can support NRDC's BioGems campaign to save these and other threatened wild places. » Donate Get Your BioGems Widget Have action alerts delivered to Facebook, MySpace, iGoogle, and lots of other sites. Wildlife at Risk Stop the poisoning of wildlife on public lands Every year, more than 13,000 animals -- including coyotes, wolves, bobcats, bears and foxes -- are poisoned on our public lands by the federal government. Under the Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services program, government agents routinely place toxic poisons in national forests and other public lands in the name of "predator control" -- mostly at the behest of powerful agribusiness companies that see many wildlife species as pests. What's worse, two of the most lethal poisons are often used for this dirty work: Compound 1080, which is so deadly it's outlawed in some states and many countries, and sodium cyanide, which is ejected from M-44s -- powerful spring-loaded devices that kill hundreds of non-target animals every year, including household pets. It's time we stop this cruel and unnecessary federal program, which has been funded by taxpayer dollars for years. Urge your representative to co-sponsor the Compound 1080 and Sodium Cyanide Elimination Act, which would ban the use of these substances for predator control. » Ask your representative to co-sponsor the Compound 1080 and Sodium Cyanide Elimination Act. In the News   NRDC MAINTAINS PRESSURE ON CORPORATE GIANTS TO ABANDON PEBBLE MINE PROJECT As part of our international campaign to stop the Pebble Mine project in Alaska's Bristol Bay watershed, we've continued to ratchet up pressure on the multinational companies behind the disastrous scheme. In June, NRDC senior attorney Joel Reynolds, who is leading our campaign against the Pebble Mine, traveled to Tokyo to deliver nearly 100,000 Petitions of Protest to executives at the Mitsubishi Corporation, a major investor in the mine project. Also last month, Joel met with Anglo American executives in London regarding the company's leading role in Pebble Mine. At the meeting, he presented 28,000 Petitions of Protest from our Members and online activists, which were in addition to the 100,000 petitions that were already delivered to Anglo's shareholders meeting on Earth Day. BioGems Defenders have responded overwhelmingly to our calls for action, and we will continue to send you the latest updates on this critical campaign to protect Bristol Bay's wildlife and Native communities. MORATORIUM ON COMMERCIAL WHALING REMAINS IN PLACE FOR NOW In a big win for BioGems Defenders, the International Whaling Commission recently decided to postpone action on a controversial proposal that would have legalized commercial whaling. The proposal, which was vigorously opposed by NRDC and other conservation groups, would have allowed the killing of whales for profit for the first time in a generation. Despite a worldwide moratorium on whaling that came into effect in 1986, Japan, Iceland and Norway have continued to kill whales under the guise of "scientific research" and other loopholes. Even though the moratorium remains in place for now, the IWC could still revisit a similar proposal next year. If that happens, we'll be sure to mobilize our BioGems Defenders, who have already sent more than 94,000 messages in opposition to the plan. In the meantime, whales continue to be slaughtered and NRDC will continue advocating that the IWC put an end to all commercial whaling once and for all. NRDC PRESIDENT APPOINTED TO NATIONAL OIL SPILL COMMISSION NRDC President Frances Beinecke has been appointed by President Obama to serve on the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling. The commission's goal is to determine what went wrong on the Deepwater Horizon and to find ways to ensure this type of catastrophe never happens again. While Frances serves on the commission, all of NRDC's energy-related and coastal protection work will be headed up by Executive Director Peter Lehner. Action Insider   MUSICIANS COME TOGETHER TO HELP END MOUNTAINTOP REMOVAL MINING An impressive roster of musicians came together for one night in Nashville to help end the destructive method of coal mining known as mountaintop removal. As part of NRDC's "Music Saves Mountains" campaign, this unprecedented concert drew such artists as Dave Matthews, Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, Patty Griffin and others to bring attention to the communities throughout Appalachia that are being devastated by mountaintop mining. Visit Music Saves Mountains for more information on the campaign. THIS GREEN LIFE: BUG SPRAY, EXAMINED With summer in full swing and most of us spending as much time as possible outdoors, it's important to have the right (and safe) protection from bugs. Sheryl Eisenberg looks at the truth behind DEET vs. natural insect repellents in this issue of This Green Life. Photo credits: Bobcats - Don Johnston/Getty Images; Sea lion - Lon Lauber; Hiker - iStockphoto.com/Don Johnston/Getty Images; Sea lion - Lon Lauber; Hiker - iStockphoto.com

 

VICTORY OF SORTS AT THE IWC CONFERENCE IN MOROCCO 24JUN10

We did it! Thanks to YOU, the Obama Administration kept its promise to save whales at the International Whaling Commission (IWC) talks. As a result, the IWC was unable to lift the ban on commercial whaling! As I sat in a stuffy meeting room in Agadir, Morocco with delegates and representatives from other nations, I knew I wasn’t alone in working to help save the whales. I had more than 1.5 million passionate people, like YOU, with me there in spirit supporting the whales and standing up to tell the President that they deserve to be saved, not slaughtered. While the gathering nations failed to implement new plans for whale conservation, I’m pleased that our President and his team stood their ground in the end, thanks to your efforts. This year, the best we could do was preventing the IWC from rolling back protections for whales. Next year, we need to apply even more pressure so the IWC will close dangerous loopholes that have allowed Japan, Iceland, and Norway to continue killing whales. Thank you for all your support. The whales are breathing a big sigh of relief! For the whales, Phil Kline Oceans Campaigner
	Oceans Campaigner	YOU DID IT! I have fantastic news: the International Whaling Commission (IWC) announced yesterday that it is delaying action on a deal that would have legalized commercial whaling for the first time in a generation. The IWC’s decision is a huge victory for whales -- and for activists like you -- against very long odds. And it was made possible by more than 100,000 NRDC Members and BioGems Defenders like you who helped ignite a worldwide outcry against this potentially disastrous policy change. Just weeks ago, Pierce Brosnan kicked off NRDC’s public mobilization campaign by alerting you to this deadly deal and asking you to make your voice heard in opposition. At that time, an end to the ban on whaling seemed virtually inevitable. The deal had been negotiated for years in secret, closed-door meetings. The talks were spearheaded by key governments, including our own, which believed that lifting the ban on whaling would rein in rogue whaling by Japan, Iceland and Norway. But, in fact, the proposed deal was a capitulation to the whaling nations, conferring legitimacy on their slaughter of whales after they’d defied international law for years. The deal would have suspended the whaling ban for 10 years and opened up a designated whale sanctuary to commercial whaling. And it would not have put binding measures in place to stop whaling nations from killing whales under legal loopholes like “scientific permits.” Worst of all, the deal would have given moral cover to the notion that we can save whales by killing them -- instead of by banning their slaughter. Fortunately, a worldwide outcry helped halt this headlong rush to legalize the slaughter of whales for profit. It shone a spotlight on the secret proceedings and put pressure on anti-whaling nations -- like the United States -- to toughen their stance in negotiating with the whaling nations. That last-minute shift produced a whale-saving deadlock. This fight is not yet over. The IWC has left the proposed deal open on its agenda, meaning that it could be revisited in the next two days. More likely, the IWC will opt for a year-long “cooling-off period” and take up the issue again next year. We’ll be ready to mobilize again whenever this proposed deal is put back on the table. In the weeks and months ahead, we’ll be urging the IWC to focus its conservation efforts on emerging threats to marine mammals that are growing with each passing day: from entanglement to ship strikes, from noise pollution to global warming. In the meantime, I want to thank you for helping secure this important victory for whales -- and for making sure that the slaughter of whales for profit will remain illegal. Sincerely,   Peter Lehner Executive Director Natural Resources Defense Council

Germany Delivers an Ultimatum to Iceland on Whaling 16JUN10 from Sea Shepherd

It has been a very bad news week for the whalers. First, the Japanese were caught red-handed by the Sunday Times of the U.K. in a bribery scandal and vote-buying scheme with the International Whaling Commission (IWC). Then a former whaler spilt the beans on his colleagues by blowing the whistle on illegal activity onboard the Japanese factory ship Nisshin Maru. Palau announced it would no longer vote for Japan, and Germany has openly declared that if Iceland wants in the European Community, it will have to abolish the killing of the whales.
The German parliament today declared to Iceland that in order to be granted EU membership, Iceland must stop whaling.
The German congress had passed a decree on April 22^nd, 2010 to declare full support for formal negotiations with Iceland with the aim of bringing Iceland in as a full member of the European Union. But the decree carried the stipulation that Iceland must make amends with regards to whale preservation in accordance with international and EU law.
This stipulation was in a memo officially presented by a representative of the German Ambassador to Iceland at a meeting with Icelandic officials today.
According to the Icelandic Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture, Jón Bjarnason, the Icelandic government is willing to participate in a group working towards reaching a compromise regarding whaling.
The writing is on the wall for the Icelandic whaling industry. In the wake of the crash of the Icelandic economy, Iceland must join the European Union to maintain it’s economy at the standard it has until recently enjoyed. The price for joining will be to end their barbaric whaling practices.
So it appears that the Axis of Whalers will soon be down from three to two, leaving only Norway and Japan as the last two stubborn hold-outs in a world that views whaling as unnecessary, barbaric, cruel, and ecologically destructive.

THE FIGHT FOR WHALES from GREENPEACE & HSUS TV COMMERCIAL

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Japan, Norway and Iceland have killed thousands of whales and want to kill thousands more - and now our government is supporting them!   STOP THE LIES, STOP THE SLAUGHTER PLEASE DONATE TODAY Last night I arrived in Morocco where the International Whaling Commission will shortly face a major decision to approve the slaughter of thousands of more whales. Please support the whales and ensure that the decision is NO by making your most generous gift today. I’m here to apply unrelenting pressure on our U.S. government delegation - to ensure that they know that Americans do not support a return to the commercial slaughter of these amazing and majestic creatures. We are making it clear that it will be a serious mistake for the President and his administration to continue to ignore public opinion on the fate of the whales. Just two weeks ago I joined activists outside the White House where we personally delivered over 1,000,000 messages of protest to the President. We cannot compromise with countries who have abused the ban - if they’re cheating the system now, I shudder to think what they’ll do when their killing is legitimized. Please donate today. If we’re successful in stopping this attempt to undo decades of our work, we will still need to challenge rogue countries like Japan from carrying on their illegal hunts.   For the whales, Phil Kline Whales Campaign Director DONATE NOW

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