Endangered Whales Under Threat from South Korea

South Korea has announced that they plan to kill endangered whales using a loophole in the International Whaling Commission (IWC) treaty, for ‘scientific whaling’. This proposed move has drawn widespread criticism from across the globe, with the hunt seen by many as totally unnecessary and unacceptable.

With the amount of modern, non lethal research techniques currently available, there appears to be a serious breakdown in trust for South Korea’s planned research. The Minke Whale is considered endangered by the IWC Scientific Committee, though South Korea appear to be claiming that lethal whaling is required to determine how to manage their stocks. Are they for real?

Some countries have even offering to meet with Korean scientists to discuss how to fill data gaps via non lethal techniques, though whether these meetings are agreed remains to be seen. South Korean fishermen are putting pressure on the government to allow whaling, as they are claiming that the Minke Whales are eating large amount of their fish stocks. Surely overfishing is the main problem here, not the amount the minke whales eat?

Head of WWF’s delegation to IWC, Wendy Elliott, said –

The resumption of whaling by Korea after a quarter of a century would be a huge step back for the IWC. Korea already sells meat from whales caught in fishing gear, and we believe this move is a thinly veiled attempt by Korea to conduct commercial whaling under the guise of scientific research, similar to hunts conducted by Japan in the Southern Ocean whale sanctuary. This type of senseless proposal derails the important work of the IWC on conservation issues of critical importance to whales, dolphins and porpoises. Conservation of threatened whale species is something all countries should be able to agree on.

Let’s hope the international community stand firm on this issue and stop South Korea in their tracks with this unnecessary slaughter of these beautiful creatures. If you would like to find out more about the work of the WWF or would like to adopt a whale, why not check out out dedicated charity page. Here you can find out more information about the WWF animal adoption scheme, and how you can help endangered species survive and grow in numbers.