REACTIONS to Iceland’s resumption of whaling this week highlight once again the shambles of international whaling policy. Iceland has begun what it says will be an annual hunt for 38 minke whales. It gets round the International Whaling Commission’s moratorium by claiming the whaling is for research purposes, though few doubt that Iceland’s real aim is commercial whaling. Dishonest as this stance may be it is no worse than that of opponents such as the British and US governments.
The Bush administration threatens trade sanctions. The UK “deeply regrets” the “wholly unjustified” hunt. But what makes the hunt unjustified? Icelandic…
