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40 Animal Welfare Inst. Q. 1 (1991)

handle is hein.animal/awiqu0040 and id is 1 raw text is: @0 THE ANIMAL WELFARE INSTITUTE QUARTERLY P.O. BOX 3650 WASHINGTON, DC 20007 SPRING 1991 VOL. 40 NO. 1 The IWC Must Act Now to Protect Dolphins, Porpoises and Small Whales Hundreds of thousands of dolphins, por- poises and small whales continue to be brutally slaughtered in the oceans and seas of the world, according to a new report of the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA). Part Two of The Global WarAgainst Small Cetaceans will be published to coin- cide with the 1991 meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) which convenes in Reykjavik, Iceland on May 27th. The report appeals for the IWC to take urgent action to protect and conserve the 65 species of dolphins, porpoises and small whales which receive no international protection. Dozens of the species are being lost at an alarming rate. The report seeks immediate measures to protect the striped dolphin and Dall's porpoise in Japan, the vaquita in Mexico, the eastern spinner dol- phin caught in the eastern tropical Pacific, dolphins killed by Turkey in the Black Sea and dolphins killed by Chile for use as crab bait in addition to many other species. Driftnets The report describes the pirate activi- ties of driftnetting fleets from Taiwan, Korea and Japan. The Taiwanese fleet illegally catches dolphins, whales and other animals in British, French and South African waters in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The Korean fleet fishes illegally in USSR wa- ters and a Japanese fleet illegally fished in USSR waters by reflagging as North Ko- rean vessels. Recently completed investigations by EIA have confirmed tens of thousands of dolphins are killedby Taiwanesedriftnetters working in the Indian and South Atlantic Oceans. Although the Indian Ocean is formally classified as a whale sanctuary, as many as 140 Taiwanese driftnetters deploy 60 kilometer nets and kill large numbers of dolphins and other marine animals. Crew members from one vessel admit- ted they had caught between 50 and 100 sperm whales in a three month period while driftnetting in the Indian Ocean. Thou- sands of sperm whales may be dying as a result of driftnetters' activities. Filipino crew members claim they werepress ganged onto Taiwanese boats and may lose fingers from frostbite. continued on page 6 NJ Assembly Votes 66 to 2 for Ban on Imports of Wild Birds The New Jersey Assembly, in an over- whelming show of support for the preserva- tion of wild birds, voted 66 to 2 for a ban on importation and sale of wild-caught exotic birds for the pet trade. Assemblyman Ben Mazur is the prin- cipal sponsor of the legislation. He is a vet- eran of the successful bid to end use and sale of steel jaw leghold traps in the Stateof New Jersey. Senate President John Lynch has pledged his support for the bill. The Pet Industry Joint Advisory Coun- As we go to press, Congressmen Gerry Studds (D,MA) and Anthony Beilenson (D,CA) are about to introduce a bill to ban importation of wild caught birds for the pet trade. The ban would take place immediately on enactment of the legislation. cil (PIJAC) tried to scuttle the bill by send- ing out a release just before the vote claim- ing the nation's leading conservation and humane organizations are committed to national legislation to regulate wild bird imports and 'do not support any proposals for state legislation.' The PIJAC release was issued the Thursday, before the vote scheduled for Monday, March 4, making it difficult to an- swer the charges in the time available. But the members of the Coalition to End the Wild Bird Trade (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Defend- ers of Wildlife, the Humane Society of the United States and the Society for Animal Protective Legislation) pointed out that all of the animal protective organizations work- ing on the issue wanted both federal and state legislation to protect the birds. In the Senate, where the bill has been Typically overcrowded handling of wild caught birds. referred to the Labor, Industry and Profes- sional Committee, a lobbying firm called Public Strategies, Inc. is doing its best to sow confusion. To support its opposition it has reproduced and mailed out an undated statement on World Wildlife Fund letter- continued on page 7 PRINTED ON RECYbLED PAPER 5S01-

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