Bangkok, 12 October 2004: CITES voted against a proposal today that would have removed an ultra-abundant whale species from its Appendix I listing, choosing once again to defer to the International Whaling Commission (IWC). Over the last eighteen years, the IWC has failed to make any progress on establishing a management system and it shows little sign that it will complete its Revised Management Scheme (RMS) in the foreseeable future.

Eugene Lapointe, President of IWMC World Conservation Trust, said: "This outcome makes a mockery of international regulations for conservation. Appendix I is supposed to list species that would be endangered by international trade, not those that look good in the publicity material of animal rights groups. Minke whales are plentiful, the evidence for their abundance is incontrovertible and there is even a concern that their burgeoning populations may be preventing the recovery of other species, such as the blue whale."

CITES is obliged to base its decisions on a science-based approach to managing wildlife but in this case it has resorted to a procedural argument. In fact, there is no requirement for CITES to defer consideration of whale species to the IWC. The IWC's moratorium on whaling does not represent criteria either to list, or not to list, minke whales on Appendix I of CITES.

Anti-whaling countries successfully argued that CITES should not transfer minke whales out of Appendix I before an RMS has been established by the IWC. Many of the same countries have been unwilling to complete RMS deliberations at the IWC, a situation that is widely regarded as a deliberate tactic designed to prolong the current status quo.

Eugene Lapointe added: "This is a classic Catch-22 situation. Certain countries have made it a precondition that the IWC has a management system in place before CITES will consider a downlisting for minke whales, knowing full well that they can also prevent one from being instituted in the near future. It would be better for CITES to tell the IWC to get its house in order."

For more information and interviews, contact Eugene Lapointe
Email: iwmc@iwmc.org