IWMC - Press Release / 14 May 1998

National Environmental Policies at Odds with Public Opinion

14 May 1998 - Muscat, Oman: National policy on whaling in a number of countries appears to be based on erroneous information, according to a recent public opinion poll. This finding, which has policy implications for the United Kingdom, Australia and France, is being announced just prior to the 50th anniversary of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), whose annual meeting is being held in Muscat, Oman, May 16 through 20. This survey revealed that a majority of the persons interviewed would support a resumption of harvest of non-endangered Minke whales if they were to be used for human food. Figures were: 54% of Australians, 63% of French, and 60% of UK citizens would support use of Minke whales for food and cultural reasons.

The survey, done by Responsive Management, of Harrisonburg, Virginia, is entitled "Opinions of Minke Whale Harvest among Residents of Australia, France, and the United Kingdom with Comparisons to Residents of the United States." It was conducted for Henke & Associates, Ltd., an environmental conservation consulting firm, as a follow-up to a similar one done in the United States, where 71% of the people surveyed also indicated they would support resumption of whaling under the same guidelines. The survey studied the level of knowledge citizens of the above countries have regarding whales and their opinions on whale harvest. It was conducted in order to determine if the national positions of the countries surveyed correspond to the opinions of their citizens. The survey results revealed the following:

In each country, a significant number of people have no opinion one way or the other on whaling issues although a majority supports whaling under certain conditions.
In each country, public opinion does not support the national position which opposes resumption of a limited harvest of Minke whales for use as food.
A majority of people in each country surveyed (64 to 73%) said they knew little or nothing about whales.
The findings for Australia, France, and the United Kingdom mirror earlier results of the same survey in the United States.

Janice Henke, President of Henke and Associates, Ltd. noted that for years a number of "Like Minded" nations have developed goals contradicting not only the international treaty all have signed (the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling) but also the conservative scientific findings and recommendations of the Scientific Committee of the IWC. According to the treaty, all IWC decisions are to be based on sound science. Recently, however, the anti-whaling positions of the above member nations have allegedly been based on assumptions by leadership of public opinion. The series of surveys was done to test the validity of these assumptions. Based on the survey results, it appears the national policy in each country is at odds with the views of a majority of its citizens. Complete results of the survey will be made available to the press at the 50th anniversary meeting of the International Whaling Commission, in Muscat, Oman.

For further information, please contact
Eugene Lapointe, IWMC President,
Former Secretary General of CITES (1982-1990)
Tel/Fax: +1(727) 734-4949 or Email: elapointe@iwmc.org