The International Whaling Commission (IWC) today voted against setting up a sanctuary for whales in the South Pacific for the second time in as many years.
The proposal, brought before the IWC's annual meeting here by the governments of Australia and New Zealand, was narrowly defeated after it failed to receive a 75 per cent majority.
Twenty members voted for the proposal, while 13 countries voted against the scheme and four abstained.
Amongst those countries to vote 'no' were a number of the small island states of the Caribbean, strengthening accusations that Japan has engaged in "vote-buying" to stop the proposal being passed.
The vote "is the latest evidence that a hard-core minority of whaling countries can now block action in the forum," the International Fund for Animal Welfare said in a statement.
Australia and New Zealand proposed the sanctuary in the South Pacific as a means of providing whales with a place of refuge from threats of commercial hunting, marine pollution and shipping interference.
Several whale sanctuaries already exist in the Indian Ocean and the Southern Ocean, providing shelter for scores of whales, and animal welfare organisations hoped a similar sanctuary in the South Pacific would act as an extension of these areas of safe waters.
AFP