Whale On the Plate

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So Japan has been doling out aid to developing members of the IWC, such as the Pacific islands of Nauru and Tuvalu, to line up support ahead of the annual meeting in St. Kitts and Nevis this June. "If the pro-whaling forces succeed in achieving a simple majority this year," says Australia's Environment Minister, Ian Campbell, who locked horns with Japanese delegates last year, "it'll set back the cause of conservation." For one thing, Japan will be able to put an end to those pesky condemnations of its scientific quota. Ending the moratorium, however, would require the support of 75% of the IWC membership, and Campbell says that won't happen. But then, as far as Japan is concerned, absolute victory is probably beside the point.