Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Whales hunting ban - final vote

jun 29th, 2010

i do believe there is no reason to hunt whales. 

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Michel Danino

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Ben Wikler - Avaaz.org <avaaz@avaaz.org>
Sent: Thu, June 17, 2010 2:02:30 PM
Subject: Whales hunting ban - final vote

Avaaz.org - The World in Action Dear friends,

The final vote on commercial whale hunting is just days away. 650,000 of us have signed the petition to protect whales, and an Avaaz team is on the ground to make sure we're heard -- let's super-charge this campaign by hitting 1 million signatures! Add your name and then forward this message:

In a few days, the International Whaling Commission will hold its final vote on whether to legalize commercial whale hunting.

Pro-whaling forces are pushing hard to get their way. But we'll be out in force too. Already, more than 650,000 of us have signed the petition to protect whales -- let's reach 1 million!

Thanks to donations from thousands of Avaaz members, an Avaaz team is now headed to the whale summit to coordinate billboards, front-page newspaper ads, and a giant, constantly-updating petition counter ... so that delegates can't ignore the resounding call to protect whales from slaughter.

Our power is in our numbers -- click to sign the petition, and forward this email to everyone:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/whales_last_push/?vl

Thanks to the worldwide outcry, many governments have already pledged to oppose the proposal. Each time the Avaaz whale petition added 100,000 signatures, it was sent again to the IWC and key governments. Some, like New Zealand, thanked all of us who had signed on.

But pressure from the other side has been relentless. Now other governments, especially in Europe and Latin America, may abstain... or even support the proposal. The vote could go either way.

Citizen pressure is our best hope. After all, it was an explosive worldwide social movement in the 1980s that led to the commercial whaling ban we're now trying to protect. As the International Whaling Commission meets in Morocco -- starting this Thursday, the 17th, with the crucial vote less than a week away -- let's make sure the world's voices are there to greet them:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/whales_last_push/?vl

After the global ban was first implemented on commercial whaling, the number of whales killed each year plummeted from 38,000 per year to just a couple of thousand. It's a testament to the power of humanity to move forward. As we move to confront the other crises of the modern age, let's cherish this legacy of progress -- by joining together now to protect our majestic and intelligent neighbors on this fragile planet.

With hope,

Ben, Ben M, Maria Paz, Ricken, Benjamin, David, Graziela, Luis, and the whole Avaaz team

P.S.: Despite the ban, Japan, Norway, and Iceland have continued whaling -- and are now pushing to make the IWC proposal as lenient as possible. Expecting permission to catch more whales than ever, Japan is reportedly planning to buy its largest whaling ship yet. Click here to sign the petition against commercial whaling!

SOURCES:

IWC Voting on Whale Hunting Moratorium Next Week
http://goo.gl/7m0y

"IWC whaling proposal 'offensive'", New Zealand Herald
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10640398

"Flights, girls and cash buy Japan whaling votes" - a new exposé by the Times of London
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article7149086.ece

The other side: IWC Chairman defends whaling proposal
http://www.avaaz.org/commercial_whaling_support

"Nations Push To Develop New Whale-based Products" - anticipating the end of the whaling ban, whaling nations planning whale-based products including golf balls and detergent
http://goo.gl/aoH1

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1 comment:

sansk said...

get ready for costlier lipstick :-)