Henry Smith MP has shown his support for whales by signing the International Fund for Animal Welfare’s (IFAW) whale board in Parliament, and gave his backing to calls for a permanent end to Japan’s Antarctic whaling.
Henry said;
“I’m pleased to continue to support the International Fund for Animal Welfare – it is an organisation I worked with in the last parliament, and I’m very much looking forward to doing so in the coming years.
“IFAW are working to protect whales at a time when they face more threats than ever before. These animals should be protected for future generations, and I urge Japan to abandon its plans for further Antarctic whaling.”
Henry attended an IFAW parliamentary event which was held to raise awareness of Japan’s plans to resume ‘scientific whaling’ in the Southern Ocean later this year, and to urge politicians to raise the issue with Japan at the highest diplomatic level.
Philip Mansbridge, UK Director of IFAW, commented;
“We are very grateful to Henry Smith MP for showing his support for whales at such a critical time.
“IFAW opposes all commercial or so-called scientific whaling because it is cruel and unnecessary. This season whales in the Southern Ocean were safe from commercial slaughter for the first time in more than a century, and this should continue.
“We urge Japan to heed the findings of the World Court and expert scientists and to accept that non-lethal research is the way forward.”
Lorraine Platt, Founder of Conservatives Against Fox Hunting (Blue Fox), added;
“It was great to meet Henry recently at the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) Parliamentary event where Henry lent his kind support to help end Japan's Antarctic whaling.
“Henry has been a leading voice in animal welfare and has been an important champion on many animal welfare issues, especially on his work to introduce CCTV in all slaughterhouses to ensure animal safety.
“We are very grateful to Henry for his strong support for the hunting ban and support against the badger cull.”
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled in March last year that Japan’s Antarctic whaling programme JARPA-II did not meet the criteria for science and was therefore illegal.
Despite initially vowing to abide by the decision of the World Court, Japan quickly announced plans for further Antarctic whaling as part of a programme with a different name (NEWREP-A), to begin in the Southern Ocean after a pause of just one year.
External links:
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