At the International Whaling Commission's annual meeting (see earlier posts), Japan failed to garner enough votes to exempt smaller cetaceans from the IWC's agenda and to implement a secret ballot, which Japanese officials believed would bring out more votes from nations which want to participate in whaling but shy away because of political and diplomatic implications.
Pro-whaling nations did get a one-vote (33 to 32) majority to approve a resolution stating that the 1986 ban on commercial whaling was meant to be temporary and could be lifted. A three-fourths majority is needed to actually lift the ban, though, and that is not in sight.
Delegates from Greenland surprised the meeting by asking that Greenland Inuit, who are allowed to hunt a limited number of minke and fin whales, also be allowed to take howheads and humpbacks. No action has yet been taken on this request.
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