May 06, 2010 (CCC News) – Centro de Conservacion Cetacea, Centro Ecoceanos, AnimaNaturalis and volunteers of Sea Shepherd Chile gathered together in the coastal city of Vina del Mar, to celebrate de launching of the campaign “Moratorium is ZERO Whaling” (everything else are lies).

The campaign seeks to inform the public about a proposal that will be evaluated between June 21 to 26 by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) that seeks to eliminate the moratorium on commercial whaling and legitimize the illegal whaling operations conducted by Japan in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, among others.

The campaign is open to all non governmental organizations that share the view that a moratorium is ZERO whaling as well and student federations, marine tourist operators, social networks, etc. Also people from around the world are invited to sign a petition at www.cerocazadeballenas.cl to oppose the whaling proposal and to defend the moratorium as well the respect for whale sanctuaries.

Alter 25 years of protection, the whales face an uncertain future due to a whaling proposal that seeks to satisfy the interests of three whaling nations – Japan, Norway and Iceland – ignoring the sovereign right of a majority of nations that do not conduct any whaling operations and that use whale populations by non-lethal means through whale watching.

The proposal, actively promoted by the Chilean commissioner and president of the IWC, Cristian Maquieira, has been severely criticized in Chile and abroad since it ignores decades of progress made by the IWC in conservation and non-lethal management of whales in order to return the Commission to its darkest times as an organization dedicated to systematically eliminate whales for profit.

The launching of the campaign coincided with the international celebration of the Day of the Environment and included a life size minke whale named “Santu” who represents the thousands of whales that will be killed for commercial purposes if the whaling proposal is accepted by the IWC. Also a performance by two actors disguised as harpooned whales called to attention of several thousand people who signed the petition and expressed their strong opposition to the whaling proposal.

Representatives of the campaign will deliver the signatures to the president of the IWC and the Latin American governments in Agadir, Morocco, during the annual meeting of the IWC.

Elsa Cabrera, executive director of CC affirmed, “Public participation is fundamental to avoid that the pressure made by Japan within the IWC translates in the revitalization of a dying industry that is historically responsible of the devastation of almost every species of whales, so we invite everyone concerned about the destruction of the moratorium to join the campaign and sign the petition at www.cerocazadeballenas.cl”.

Source: Centro de Conservacion Cetacea