III 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 99 

Expressing the sense of the Senate to condemn the inhumane and unnecessary 

slaughter of small cetaceans, including Dall’s porpoise, the bottlenose 

dolphin, Risso’s dolphin, false killer whales, pilot whales, the striped 

dolphin, and the spotted dolphin in certain nations. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 6, 2005 

Mr. LAUTENBERG (for himself, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. SARBANES, and Mr. 

LIEBERMAN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 

the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the Senate to condemn the inhumane 

and unnecessary slaughter of small cetaceans, including 

Dall’s porpoise, the bottlenose dolphin, Risso’s dolphin, 

false killer whales, pilot whales, the striped dolphin, and 

the spotted dolphin in certain nations. 

Whereas the United States has consistently worked to increase protections for marine mammals, such as dolphins 

and whales, since the enactment of the Marine Mammal 

Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.); 

Whereas dolphins and whales are found worldwide, including 

in both of the polar regions, throughout the high seas, 

and along most coastal areas; 
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•SRES 99 IS

Whereas these unique, highly social, and intelligent animals 

have caught the imagination of the public not only in the 

United States, but in many nations around the world; 

Whereas the over-exploitation of small cetaceans for decades 

has resulted in the serious decline, and in some cases, the 

commercial extinction, of those species; 

Whereas each year tens of thousands of small cetaceans are 

herded into small coves in certain nations, are slaughtered with spears and knives, and die as a result of blood 

loss and hemorrhagic shock; 

Whereas in many cases, those responsible for the slaughter 

prevent documentation or data from the events from 

being recorded or made public; 

Whereas the deficient information on hunt yields and small 

cetacean populations indicates a lack of commitment to 

maintaining sustainable populations and prevents scrutiny of humaneness of killing methods; 

Whereas for at least the past 4 years toxicologists have 

issued warnings regarding high levels of mercury and 

other contaminants in meat from small cetaceans caught 

off coastal regions; 

Whereas some nations that participate in small cetacean 

slaughter are members of the United Nations Convention 

on the Law of the Sea, done at Montego Bay, Jamaica, 

December 10, 1982, and are therefore bound to honor article 65 of that Convention, which declares that ‘‘States 

shall cooperate with a view to the conservation of marine 

mammals and in the case of cetaceans shall in particular 

work through the appropriate international organizations 

for their conservation, management, and study’’; 
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•SRES 99 IS

Whereas in 1946, 14 nations adopted the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling with schedule of 

whaling regulations, signed at Washington December 2, 

1946 (TIAS 1849), which established the International 

Whaling Commission to provide for the proper conservation of whales stocks; and 

Whereas the International Whaling Commission on numerous 

occasions has called into question the slaughter by member nations of small cetaceans, has asked for the reduction of the number of animals killed, and has in certain 

instances urged for the halt of the slaughter altogether, 

including by passing resolutions condemning drive hunts 

of striped dolphins in 1992 and 1993 and resolutions 

criticizing exploitation of Dall’s porpoises in 1990, 1999, 

and 2001: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that— 

2 (1) the United States strongly condemns the 

3 slaughter of small cetaceans in drive fisheries and 

4 urges nations that participate in small cetacean 

5 slaughter to end commercial hunts; 

6 (2) at the 57th Annual Meeting of the Inter7 national Whaling Commission in Korea, the United 

8 States should— 

9 (A) negotiate regional and international 

10 agreements to decrease catch and bycatch of all 

11 cetaceans; 
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•SRES 99 IS

1 (B) advocate for clarification that the 

2 mandate of the International Whaling Commis3 sion includes small cetaceans; 

4 (C) call on nations that participate in 

5 small cetacean slaughter to stop their commer6 cial hunts; 

7 (D) seek the inclusion of an agenda item 

8 in the Working Group on Whale Killing Meth9 ods and Associated Welfare Issues on killing 

10 methods for small cetaceans and implications 

11 for the welfare of small cetaceans; 

12 (E) strongly urge all nations that engage 

13 in small cetacean hunts— 

14 (i) to provide detailed information to 

15 the International Whaling Commission on 

16 primary and secondary killing methods 

17 used for each species of small cetacean 

18 killed, the method used to measure insen19 sibility or death, and times of death; and 

20 (ii) to share with the International 

21 Whaling Commission data on the sustain22 ability of small cetacean populations; and 

23 (F) initiate and support efforts— 
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•SRES 99 IS

1 (i) to firmly support the role and au2 thority of the newly created Conservation 

3 Committee; and 

4 (ii) to ensure an ambitious conserva5 tion agenda for all future meetings of the 

6 Committee; and 

7 (3) the United States should make full use of 

8 all appropriate diplomatic mechanisms, relevant 

9 international laws and agreements, Federal laws, in10 cluding the Fishermen’s Protective Act of 1967 

11 (commonly known as the Pelly Amendment) (22 

12 U.S.C. 1971 et seq.), and other appropriate means 

13 to implement these goals. 

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