Whaling Commission condems Japan's hunt

Sounds good, but after reading the entire article -- Japan is not required to comply. A lot of noise, at least gets some attention

clipped from news.bbc.co.uk Sea Shepherd protesters disrupted Japan's Antarctic hunt this year The International Whaling Commission's annual meeting has passed a resolution condemning Japan's scientific hunting programme in the Antarctic. Japan catches nearly 1,000 whales there each year in the name of research. Japan is not obliged to comply with the IWC vote "Every scientific catch is a stain on the record of this commission," said Monaco's whaling commissioner Frederic Briand. "The best thing Japan could do is to reduce the size of its scientific whaling programmes around the world." Virtually all of the pro-whaling bloc abstained from the vote, leading to a majority of 40 to 2. It makes no material difference, as Japan is not obliged to comply. Nevertheless, it is viewed by environmental groups as an important weapon in the battle for hearts and minds.