Protesters from the environmental group Greenpeace called on Japan to stop the annual killing of more than 500 whales and implored Bush to publicly declare his stance on the practice. Japan gave up commercial whaling in compliance with an international moratorium in 1986 but says it continues to catch some whales for scientific research.
Japan is the world's biggest consumer of whale meat.
Fomer US President Bill Clinton suspended Japanese access to fishing rights in US waters last September. Greenpeace wants Bush to adopt a similarly firm stance. Japan needs to know its actions have repercussions,'' Cardwell said. The US Humane Society said in November it had asked Washington to certify that Japan's whaling undermined the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, an international agreement that governs trade in rare animals. All rights reserved.