We have tried everything possible within Peru to move the government to act. There has been no response. Now it's time to bring heavy duty international pressure on Peru to enforce its own laws requiring protection of dolphins.

At the International Whaling Commission just completed in Slovenia we met with members of the U.S. delegation and representatives from NOAA and the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission (MMC) to discuss what can be done to end the killing of dolphins for shark bait by Peruvian fishermen. The Executive Director of the MMC has reviewed our reports and passed them to the State Department. Why this course of action? Because treaties between the U.S.A. and Peru require certain standards of behavior with regard to the environment and by allowing the killing of dolphins, Peru is in violation of these norms. That could lead to trade sanctions.

Also at the IWC, we presented our fact sheets and DVDs on the tragedy to the Peruvian delegation. We discussed the situation with the German delegation who asked at the meeting to be advised of situations where dolphins are being harmed. We met with representatives of international media groups and, in addition, with NGOs from many Latin American nations comprising the Buenos Aires Group of whale and dolphin conservationists. This is an increasingly strong group who have united to protect cetaceans.

We are shooting a film for worldwide television exposing the dolphin slaughter. In addition to working through government agencies, we will produce this film exposing the deplorable policies of Peru with regard to the dolphins kills.

IWC 2014 - Positive Action for Whales

In previous years I've left the IWC plenary feeling slimed by the political machinations that traded the lives of whales for fishery subsidies, military bases and outright cash bribes.

This year the IWC voted to allow dolphins to be considered in future deliberations, recognized the International Court of Justice decision declaring Japan's Antarctic whaling to be bogus, disallowed Japan's request for permission to hunt whales off its own coast and came close to voting a sanctuary for the entire South Atlantic.

Each morning when I awaken I think of the dolphins off the coast of Peru and the mortal danger they face. At BlueVoice we constantly ask ourselves what is the most effective thing we can do today to stop the slaughter of these dolphins? The answer to that question governs our actions. Please keep these marvelous creatures in mind and support our efforts to save them.

For the dolphins and whales,

Hardy Jones,
BlueVoice.org

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