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International wildlife convention decision could lead to more endangered whale deaths

WTO rules that animal welfare trumps trade

On Thursday, 22nd May 2014, the World Trade Organisation upheld  the European Union’s ban on the import of seal pelts, oil and meat on moral grounds. Canada and Norway had previously challenged the ban. The fundamental point of this ruling is that trade issues cannot trump concerns over animal welfare and conservation. The ruling comes…

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Why do loopholes always favour the bad guys?

It’s well known, of course, that Japan has killed whales for decades by exploiting a loophole in IWC legislation (under Article VIII of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, the IWC’s founding treaty) which permits member states to issue ‘special permits’ to their nationals to whale under the guise of ‘scientific research’.  So…

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Japan to import whale meat to subsidise ‘scientific whaling’?

In what must be the most perverse of arguments, Japan claims it now needs to import whale meat in order to generate enough ‘profit’ to subsidise its so-called ‘scientific whaling‘. The Yomuiri Shimbun reports that a ‘Japanese firm that has played a central role in research whaling will soon launch full-scale whale meat imports after a…

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