Fate of Whaling Ban Hangs in the Balance as Pro and Anti-Whaling Countries Face Off

We'd like to think of whaling as an outdated practice, largely frowned upon and done only by a handful of persistent nations around the world. And so it is, for the most part--whaling has declined dramatically over the last 20 years. But all that could change. The International Whaling Commission is meeting in Portugal, and the focus of the conference is likely to revolve around the increasingly contentious worldwide whaling ban that was adopted by the IWC in 1986. Nations that still actively engage in whaling, led by Japan, Norway, and Iceland, are leading the charge to keep whales off endangered species lists--and for a full on return to legal whaling.
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by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 06.22.09