At the 1994 meeting of the International Whaling Commission in May, the Animal Welfare Institute stated in a press release that the US position on the RMP was “most disappointing”. The US government was accused of “gagging” an independent panel of scientists who had been asked to deliver a peer review on the RMP, and of censuring the result. The press release lists several highly critical comments that were “absent from the final report.” However, it does not say whether they were ever there in the first place, and the Animal Welfare Institute has done nothing to prove that they were.
The report of the peer review panel confirmed that the RMP could be “safely used” for a period of twenty years. It generally supported the conclusions of Tillman and the other US scientists that are members of the IWC Scientific Committee.
Tillman was given the Schweitzer award for “his inspiring work to protect whales within the Whaling Commission.” Particular mention was made of his efforts as US Commissioner to the Whaling Commission, a position he held for one year, in 1993. It was stated (according to the Animal Welfare member’s magazine) that he at this event had “the courage to stand up to the pressure from Norway and Japan .. and prevented the adoption of the Revised Management Procedure.” Mr. Tillman remarked in response to the award that he was “totally overwhelmed and greatly pleased.”