Lee Metcalf: “for the last 3 days I have been in Monaco at my own expense to try to prevent the renewal of whaling in the continental…”

“for the last 3 days I have been in Monaco at my own expense to try to prevent the renewal of whaling in the continental United States. From the beginning of this debate over whether the Makah Indian Tribe in Washington State should be allowed to resume the practice of hunting whales after a 70-year cessation, I have maintained what is being described as ``aboriginal subsistence whaling'' is not that at all. It will in fact lead to a tragic resumption of commercial whaling and a geometric increase in the number of whales killed worldwide. Without now addressing whether the Makah Tribe itself is motivated by the $1 million value of a gray whale in Japan, other powerful evidence exists that indicates that we are on the threshold of a dramatic increase in whaling. The official U.S. delegation to the IWC has been asking for a change in the definition of aboriginal subsistence whaling, the only type of whaling now legal under the International Whaling Commission, which the United States has ratified. In their shortsighted attempt to legalize the intentions of the Makah Tribe, the United States is asking the other nations at the IWC to expand the definition of subsistence whaling to permit cultural issues to be addressed. Why? Currently aboriginal whaling is solely for the physical nutrition of the tribe in question. In other words, they need the food. It is obvious the Makah do not need to eat whales to survive.”