Source: The International Harpoon, Nr. 1, June 24, 1996. IWC 48 Aberdeen
| The Emperor has finally discarded his clothes of reason and opted to oppose
commercial whaling just because he doesn’t like it. “Commercial whaling is opposed by the vast majority of our citizens and by Parliament, as well as by many of the countries concerned with the conservation and management of whales through the IWC,” said Tony Baldry, Britain’s Fisheries Minister, in a written statement to Parliament on May 8. “Accordingly, the UK will oppose any move to end the current moratorium on commercial whaling.” No more need the British Government filibuster the IWC with feigned concerns over the science or humanity of killing whales. Henceforth, the naked yet proud Emperor will thumb his nose at an international convention clad in nothing more than public opinion. Tattered Rags First there were the numbers. This argument split its seams a few years ago when the IWC accepted an estimate of 760,000 minke whales in the Southern Hemisphere. Now it has unravelled completely with the Scientific Committee’s estimate of 110,000 in the Northeast Atlantic, which will indisputably qualify for a quota under the RMS. Then there was the argument that whaling, although a hunt, was commercial in nature and thus had to meet the same standards of humane killing purportedly found in British slaughterhouses. “We would not allow a farmer to stick something in a cow and chase it three times round five fields before it died,” cried former fisheries minister John Gummer (The Times, Apr. 26, 1991). Now this argument has burst its buttons with revelations about Britain’s deer hunt. On June 19, in an insightful piece attributed to “two Norwegian whalers”, the Guardian revealed that “while all Norwegian whaling vessels carry veterinarians and gunners must pass a strict test to acquire a licence, Britain imposes no standards for humane killing whatsoever on the culling of deer. Furthermore, the value of Britain’s venison exports far exceeds the value of Norwegian minke whaling.” And for accessories, Britain must have visited the Oxfam shop of desperate ideas. Agreement on an inspection system would be blocked by demanding standards so costly it would drive whalers out of business. The “environmental threats” scare would be flogged for all it was worth, despite the fact these threats are taken full account of by the Revised Management Procedure. And fear of legal whaling leading to illegal trade would be fostered even though another convention, CITES, is already addressing this issue. Naked Affrontery But his nakedness, while refreshing in its honesty, is also an affront to the IWC, which is obliged by its Convention to pursue “the orderly development of the whaling industry” based on the best available scientific advice. Henceforth, Britain’s official policy is to do everything in its power to prevent the IWC from fulfilling its mission — because that’s what the British public wants. The “public opinion” of which Baldry has suddenly become such a fan is, of course, the same public opinion that has rejected a diet of mad cow burgers. Except that when the British public rejects mad cow burgers, their government calls them a bunch of emotional, irrational fools. “It’s delicious,” said Gummer, as he crammed a burger into his tiny daughter’s mouth for the cameras. “There is no cause for concern.” The difference, of course, is that massaging the opinion of British whale lovers only affects the dietary habits and incomes of FOREIGNERS. Baldry cannot lose, he thinks. But his nakedness will win no international beauty pageants. Cultural Imperialism “I believe it would be wrong, and in the nature of cultural imperialism, for Ireland to attempt to impose our cultural values on those nations whose populations have depended on the whale for generations,” said Mr. Higgins. “Yet we shall seek to convince them of our position.” To do that, one needs rational arguments. Ireland, like Britain, is a staunchly anti-whaling country, but when it comes to being on the receiving end of naked imperialism, there is much that Ireland can teach its neighbour. “Public opinion”, in case Britain doesn’t know, no longer constitutes acceptable dress for ruling the waves. |
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