Commission upholds ban on commercial whaling

The International Whaling Commission today voted to uphold an almost two-decade-old ban on commercial whaling, dealing a setback to Japan and its allies who favour a resumption.

Commission members voted 29-23 against the proposal at their meeting in Ulsan, South Korea, which needed to obtain a 75% majority to pass. There were five abstentions.

The 66-member commission, which regulates global whaling, banned commercial hunts in 1986, handing environmentalists a major victory in protecting the species near extinction after centuries of whaling.