Second defeat for pro-whaling nations

A coalition of conservation-minded nations have managed to thwart Japan’s attempt to form a pro-whaling majority on the International Whaling Commission and reverse the moratorium on commercial hunting that went into effect two decades ago.

Japan and other pro-whaling countries lost their third vote in a row last night at the 70-member commission’s annual meeting on St Kitts, preventing their predicted takeover of the organisation that manages whaling.