The 68th meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in Portoroz, Slovenia, was thrown into chaos yesterday after pro-whaling nations refused to appear at the meeting to prevent a vote being taken that likely would have approved the establishment of a South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (Ifaw) said.
The proposal, put forward by Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, aimed to provide a comprehensive approach to conservation of cetaceans, involving the management of all threats to whales in the region, not just the threat of whaling.
Realising that they did not have the votes required to block the proposal, pro-whaling nations left the meeting to break the quorum required for decision-making, Ifaw said.
Matt Collis, deputy vice-president for Conservation and leading Ifaw’s delegation to the IWC,…