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Sunday, June 26, 2005
Dumagueteños join campaign v. whale hunting
By Victor L. Camion
ENVIRONMENTALIST and conservationist residents of Dumaguete City joined the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) campaigning to save the humpback whale and all other whales.
IFAW is one of the few organizations in the world with the knowledge, experience, and resources to deal with this issue effectively, collecting millions of supports from the Philippines.
Vice Mayor William Ablong together with some environmentalists in the province expressed their opposition against in any form of whale hunting.
"Angayan nga magkahiusa kita aron pagprotihir sa bisan unsang matang sa whale," said Ablong in an interview with Sun.Star Dumaguete Wednesday afternoon.
Ablong was served as provincial area coordinator of the 9-year (1996-2004) US Agency for International Development (Usaid) support Coastal Resource Management Project (CRMP) in Oriental Negros.
Ablong stressed that different species of whales found in Tañon Strait should be protected.
The vice mayor also called on concern agencies to strengthen their efforts for the protection of the whales in the area.
He said that whales and other sea mammals are under the protection of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (Bfar).
Dugong, a sea cow, is still under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Ablong said.
Mary Judaline Flores-Partlow, bureau chief of the Philippine News Agency, based in Dumaguete City, started sending emails to Dumagueteños asking supports against the killing of whales.
"Hi! Let's all support the campaign to save the humpback and all other whales!" Flores-Partlow said in her email sent to Sun.Star Dumaguete adding, "Please sign the petition at IFAW's Stop Whaling Action Center-telling Japan not to hunt humpback whales in international waters before it's too late."
She stressed that Japan uses a loophole to kill whales under the guise of "scientific research" while selling the whale meat on the open market.
Now they intend to kill endangered fin and humpback whales using these same horrific methods, she said.
A minke whale reveals the white underside of its jaw as it pokes its head above the surface.
In 2005, Japan plans to double the number of minke whales killed in international waters, using explosive harpoons that inflict great suffering to these peaceful giants.
The humpback whale is a baleen whale and a rorqual whale that sings amazing songs. It performs complex and cooperative feeding techniques.
The humpback has a bulky head with bumpy protuberances (tubercles), each with a bristle.
Humpbacks are acrobats of the ocean, breaching and slapping the water. They live in pods and have 2 blowholes.
The name humpback describes the motion it makes as it arches its back out of the water in preparation for a dive.
Conservationists earlier reported the discovery of mating and breeding ground for humpback whales, an endangered species, off the shores of Isabela, according to an Inquirer News Services posted July 7, 2004.
Quoting the World Wide Fund for Nature reports, these gentle giants have apparently found a home near the eastern coast of the province, mainly the waters facing the Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park (NSMNP) in the Philippines.
"You might believe like I did that whales were already saved from whaling years ago. But the truth is, over 25,000 whales have been killed since an international ban on whaling was enacted in 1986. Hit with grenade-tipped spears, some whales suffer for up to an hour after the harpoon explodes inside them," Flores-Partlow added.
She added that these magnificent, endangered creatures should be appreciated for their natural beauty and have their beautiful songs heard, not eaten.
Like Vice Mayor Ablong, Flores-Partlow believed that there is no need to cruelly kill whales in order to research them, especially when other non-lethal research methods exist.
"Say NO to Killing Protected Humpback Whales" said Fred O'Regan, IFAW-chief executive officer in his email to Sun.Star adding, "Thank you for adding your voice to the public outcry against the cruelty and senselessness of Japan's whale hunt."
It takes enormous resources to fight a government insistent on expanding the whale hunt in direct violation of an international ban on whaling, said O'Regan.
"If you haven't already done so, please consider making a contribution to enable IFAW to continue it's vital work to stop the killing of humpback whales before it is too late," he said.
(June 26, 2005 issue)
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