International Whaling Commission 2011 Sunday 7/10

IWC Blog

IWC 2011 – Why BlueVoice is Here.

The International Whaling Commission is where the fate of thousands of whales will be decided. There are many interests atending vying to determine the policies that will prevail here. The IWC is taking place on the Isle of Jersey, a “separate possession of the Crown”, not part of the UK. Only 12 miles from France.
There are Inuit from Alaska and Greenland, whalers from Japan, members of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (though they are not allowed in the meeting venue), pro-whale groups of all stripes and delegates from scores of nations.
The message Blue Voice will deliver is that whales are not for killing – not only because they are endangered, though this is true – but because they are sentient, intelligent, magnificent and both curious and friendly to humankind. We have brought films and research papers to prove that point. You wouldn’t need to prove it to anyone who’d ever been in the water with a whale. Those who have done so know it intuitively. But most people, and it’s probably just as well, have never had that direct contact.
Many of the pro-whale groups base their arguments on science and that is vitally important and effective. But most seem to shy away from saying “we should not kill whales on moral grounds.” That is the very message we will emphasize.

Our new film Singing Whales Under the Gun is at
http://bluevoice.org/webfilms_singingwhales.php

BV board member arrived at the venue hotel in the same cab as U.S Chief of Delegation Monica Medina. He was able to give her a copy of our new film which demands the withdrawal of the quota to Greenland for hunting humpback whales.

First meeting of U.S. Delegation and NGOs (non-Governmental Organizations) took place Sunday morning. Very cordial and perhaps a bit promising.

For background information on previous IWC meetings check out The Voice of the Dolphins, available on Amazon.com in print and Kindle format.