Post by LSDeep on Apr 10, 2006 19:37:35 GMT -5
ANDREW BORTHWICK
HUNDREDS of whales which migrate to Scottish waters are to be slaughtered by Norwegian whalers.
Norwegian fisheries plan to kill 1,052 minke whales in 2006 - an unprecedented amount. The figure was raised in December 2005 from 797 after a unanimous vote in the Norwegian parliament. Conservationists had hoped that Norway would not attempt to reach the figure.
The minke whales head to Scottish seas to feed on seasonal shoals such as herring. The hunting season for the species opened on 1 April.
"The [Norwegian] government clearly is doing everything it can to allow whalers to kill the highest number of whales possible this year by expanding their hunting grounds," the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society said on its website.
The International Whaling Commission banned commercial whaling in 1986. Norway rejected the ban, maintaining that it is managing an ecosystem.
Critics believe grenade- tipped harpoons used to kill the whales are cruel because they do not result in an instant death.
news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=546612006
HUNDREDS of whales which migrate to Scottish waters are to be slaughtered by Norwegian whalers.
Norwegian fisheries plan to kill 1,052 minke whales in 2006 - an unprecedented amount. The figure was raised in December 2005 from 797 after a unanimous vote in the Norwegian parliament. Conservationists had hoped that Norway would not attempt to reach the figure.
The minke whales head to Scottish seas to feed on seasonal shoals such as herring. The hunting season for the species opened on 1 April.
"The [Norwegian] government clearly is doing everything it can to allow whalers to kill the highest number of whales possible this year by expanding their hunting grounds," the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society said on its website.
The International Whaling Commission banned commercial whaling in 1986. Norway rejected the ban, maintaining that it is managing an ecosystem.
Critics believe grenade- tipped harpoons used to kill the whales are cruel because they do not result in an instant death.
news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=546612006