Failure of the Norwegian Government to comply with international agreements
Doc. 7612
28 June 1996
WRITTEN DECLARATION No. 248
This written declaration commits only the members who have signed it
The undersigned, members of the Assembly,
1. Deplore the decision by the Norwegian Fisheries Department to allow the slaughter of 425 Minke whales for consumption in Norway and Japan and a further 25 Minke whales for so-called scientific purposes;
2. Deplore the blatant disregard by the Norwegian Government of decisions by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) against limited commercial whaling and scientific whaling;
3. Regret the failure of the Norwegian Government to pay any attention to moral and ethical restraints as recognised by the IWC and in particular, proper regard for the welfare of the animals. The 1995 Norwegian hunt resulted in 38% of the slaughter failing to meet the IWC's 1980 definition of humane killing since there was a meantime death of 3 minutes 24 seconds and a longest recorded timed death of 43 minutes. Killing results which, had they occurred in a Norwegian abattoir, would have been declared illegal on welfare grounds;
4. Call upon the Norwegian Government to halt this needless and obscene slaughter of sentient marine mammals and respect both the decisions of the IWC and overwhelming public opposition in Europe to whaling;
5. Call upon the IWC to extend the current moratorium on commercial whaling for another 50 years and demand that appropriate sanctions be taken against those countries which flout the moratorium.
Signed[1]:
Banks, United Kingdom, SOC
About, France, LDR
Albrink, Denmark, EDG
Belohorsk�, Slovakia, LDR
Bowden, United Kingdom, EDG
Cox, United Kingdom, SOC
Cummings, United Kingdom, SOC
Cunliffe, United Kingdom, SOC
Dionisi, Italy, UEL
Farrugia, Malta, SOC
Fehr, Switzerland, LDR
Gusenbauer, Austria, SOC
Hardy, United Kingdom, SOC
Hughes, United Kingdom, SOC
Johnston, United Kingdom, LDR
Litherland, United Kingdom, SOC
Speed, United Kingdom, EDG
_______________
Total = 17
[1] SOC : Socialist Group
EPP : Group of the European People's Party
EDG : European Democratic Group
LDR : Liberal, Democratic and Reformers Group
UEL : Group of the Unified European Left