Anti-Whaling Group Accuses Japan of Buying Caribbean Votes to Roll Back Hu

[Judi Lynn]

Anti-Whaling Group Accuses Japan of Buying Caribbean Votes to Roll Back Hunting Ban

April 21, 2006 — By Adam Raney, Associated Press
PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad — An anti-whaling group accused Japan on Thursday of trying to buy votes from Caribbean countries in its bid to roll back an International Whaling Commission ban on whale hunting -- an allegation repeatedly denied by Japanese officials.

Japan has given six Caribbean nations -- St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Antigua, Dominica, Grenada and St. Kitts -- more than US$100 million (euro81 million) in fishing aid since 1998. Most of them have backed Japan on the vast majority of whaling votes.

"Call it aid or whatever you like, it is still vote buying," said Joth Singh, director of Wildlife and Habitat Protection for the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

Singh joined Caribbean environmentalists for a two-day meeting to come up with strategies to convince regional leaders to take a stand against whale hunting at the IWC's annual meeting to be held this June in St. Kitts.
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http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=10305

[tjwmason]

1. Several of my ancestors were involved in whaling

and I have strong connections with Dundee which suffered significant economic problems with the ending of whale-hunting - but I utterly fail to see how people could support its reintroduction.