LONDON (Kyodo) Japan and other nations that favor whaling look set to take control of the International Whaling Commission next month, with environmentalists warning the mammals face one of their biggest threats since the ban on commercial hunting was introduced.
But if the prowhaling countries are able to get a majority on the IWC at the commission meeting in the Caribbean nation of St. Kitts and Nevis from June 16 to 20, they will see it as a move forward in their long-term aim of reintroducing a limited form of whaling, which ensures that stocks are conserved.
Nongovernmental organizations in Britain believe it is likely the balance of power will shift for the first time in years from the antiwhaling to the prowhaling side.