Date: Mon, 20 May, 1996
NORWAY COMMENCES SLAUGHTER OF 425 WHALES IN NORTHEAST ATLANTIC

Norway Undermines International Convention, Clinton's Response Completely Inadequate

WASHINGTON, (GP) -- Starting today, and continuing for the next two months, a total of 425 minke whales will be hunted down to exhaustion, ripped apart with grenade tipped harpoons and then dragged aboard a Norwegian ship to be disemboweled and butchered. Greenpeace is calling on the Clinton Administration, which to date has paid mere lip service to the issue, to use all diplomatic means at its disposal to end the hunt.

In a blatant attempt to avoid international review of their planned whale kill, Norway is commencing its hunt today, one month before the meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) on June 24-28 in Aberdeen, Scotland. Norway's commercial whale hunt, with a quota twice that of last year's, has been condemned worldwide by such countries as England, Germany and New Zealand.

A congressional letter signed by 23 members of Congress, including Representatives Wayne Gilchrest (R-MD) and George Miller (D-CA), calls on President Clinton to take immediate action to end the whale hunt. As of today, President Clinton has yet to respond. While claiming personal leadership on the issue, President Clinton has failed to act on his three year-old commitment to impose sanctions against Norway if they continued to kill whales in defiance of the international ban.
"Because Clinton is too scared to take a stand in an election year, over four hundred whales are going to be slaughtered," said Gerry Leape of Greenpeace.
"The time for words is over. The time for action is now."

Norway has not only undermined the effectiveness of the IWC's total moratorium on commercial whaling, it has also blatantly broken its domestic ban on whale meat exports. On April 6th of this year, Japanese officials foiled an attempt by Norway to smuggle six tons of whale meat in a container sent from Oslo to Yokohama, Japan. Whale meat is sold in Japan for $260 a kilogram.

While demand for whale meat is high in Asia, the Norwegian domestic market is in a slump. This morning Norwegian press reports that over 100 tons of whale meat from last year's hunt are still sitting in storehouses, forcing many Norwegian whale meat buyers to reconsider their plans to buy whale meat in 1996.

Norway has based this year's whaling quota on a minke whale population of 110,000. This figure has not been approved by the IWC, and therefore cannot be considered scientifically sound. In 1993 the United States and Norway pledged to work together in good faith to work within the IWC framework, and establish whale population data based on sound science. This agreement has been abrogated by Norway's recent actions.

CONTACT: Gerry Leape, 202-319-2401 or Jonathan Hall, 202-319-2542



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