The International Whaling Commission banned commercial whaling in 1986 in response to fears about whale extinction. The United States is one of the leading anti-whaling nations. Norway has been killing as many whales as it wants because it objected when the original moratorium was proposed. The program that allows Japanese scientific whaling was set up under an International Whaling Commission agreement. Some Japanese eat the meat caught for research at popular restaurants specializing in whale dishes.
Environmentalists say such sales encourage illegal whaling.
Norway, another whaling nation, has continued to hunt whales because it does not agree with the IWC ban. In a confusing and controversial decision, the IWC approved an American request for an annual quota of up to five grey whales for the Makah tribe of Washington State, who have not whaled for more than 70 years. Many countries argued that the Makah had not established their case for a genuine subsistence need - an issue which may yet be challenged in the US courts. The IWC also agreed to allow the killing of up to 56 threatened bowhead whales a year for the Alaskan Inuits and Russian Chukotka people. Visit Animal Alert News , a generous sponsor.