MEDIA RELEASE

8 May 2009

Keisha Castle-Hughes saves the whales

Whale Rider star, Keisha Castle-Hughes, is working with the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) to encourage the New Zealand Government to speak out against any proposal which would threaten the international whaling ban.

On 22 June, the New Zealand Government will meet with governments from around the world at the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in Portugal to discuss a proposal which would effectively lift the ban on commercial whaling.

As Keisha explains, the proposal would allow Japan to hunt endangered whales in their coastal waters.

``Many governments believe that this could act as leverage to control Japan’s so-called `scientific’ whaling. Unfortunately, this is not the case. In fact, it could not guarantee a reduction in the number of whales killed by Japan, Norway or Iceland. More worryingly, this proposal would set a dangerous precedent, opening the floodgates for this cruel industry to grow.

This is totally unacceptable. WSPA has scientifically proven evidence that there is no humane way to kill a whale, with some whales taking an hour or even longer to die,’’ she says.

``The intense pain and distress caused by whaling is a fact that can’t be refuted by whaling nations, and it has been a powerful argument at recent IWC meetings where decisions on protecting the world’s whales are made.

I am proud that New Zealand was one of the first countries to speak out against commercial whaling. But our government has yet to publicly come out against this proposal, which would give the green light to this outdated and unspeakably cruel practice.’’

WSPA is collecting messages from New Zealanders letting the New Zealand Government know they do not support any proposal which would endanger the whaling ban.

``To truly save the whales we must do more than prevent the extinction of certain species in certain parts of the world – we must protect every animal from unacceptable cruelty,’’ says Keisha.

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