Whales~~~~~

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December 1, 2003

Animal Advocates Hope Ruling Signals Final Chapter in Whaling Debate

Seattle, WA--The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has denied the Bush Administration's and Makah Indian Tribe's request to reconsider last year's ruling that effectively put a stop to the hunting of gray whales off the coast of Washington. The government and tribe had asked the court to rehear the case "en banc"--by the full court rather than a panel of judges. In denying this request, the court rejected challenges to last year's ruling that the federal government, in approving the whale hunt, had failed to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

The plaintiffs in the case--The Fund for Animals, The Humane Society of the United States, and other groups and individuals--argued that the government failed to adequately study the ways in which the Makah whale hunt could set a dangerous precedent and adversely affect the environment, especially because the expanded hunt posed an even greater risk to the area's small population of 30 to 50 resident gray whales. The plaintiffs also argued that the government's authorization of the whale hunt violated the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which generally prohibits whaling, while creating an explicit exemption for Alaskan tribes, but not for the Makah.

Said Michael Markarian, President of The Fund for Animals, "For the third time now, the court has said no to whale hunting. Americans decided long ago that our whales should be protected, not persecuted. The question now is whether the Bush Administration will continue to use federal taxpayer money to support an illegal and inhumane whale hunt."

Added Wayne Pacelle, a Senior Vice President for The Humane Society of the United States, "This attempt to circumvent our environmental and marine mammal protection laws has failed. Let's hope that this represents the final chapter in this wrongheaded effort to resume whale killing in the United States."

The plaintiffs are represented by the public interest law firm Meyer & Glitzenstein.

November 26, 2003

Hawaian False killer whales denied protection

A coalition of community and conservation groups represented by Earthjustice, is taking the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to court for failing to adequately protect Hawaii's false killer whales, a kind of dolphin," from longline fishing says ENS 11/20. Recent stock assessments indicate the Hawaiian population is down to 83 individuals and the NMFS's own data "show that the Hawaii based longline fleet is injuring and false killer whales at twenty times the level the population can sustain." The groups, which include the Center for Biological Diversity and Turtle Island Restoration Network, want the longline fishery reclassified to mandate increased protection for imperiled species. "Longline fishing for swordfish and tuna in
Hawaii's biologically diverse waters is akin to hunting deer by placing land mines in the forest," said the center.

August 28, 2003

Judge decides in favor of whales vs. US Navy's LFS

A federal court has just handed down its decision in our case against the U.S.
Navy and I wanted you to be the first to hear the great news. In a resounding
victory for whales and other marine mammals, the court ruled that it will bar
the Navy from deploying its high-intensity LFA sonar system across most of the
world's oceans.

The LFA (Low Frequency Active) sonar system would have blasted hundreds of
thousands of square miles of ocean habitat with noise so intense it can maim,
deafen and even kill whales. In her historic ruling, Judge LaPorte agreed with
NRDC that the sonar's booming noise could "irreparably harm" the marine
environment and threaten the very survival of endangered populations of whales,
sea turtles and other marine species.

Judge LaPorte has ordered the Navy to begin negotiations with NRDC on a plan
for safely testing the sonar system in a limited area.

This is truly a banner day for the Earth's environment. The court has granted a
life-saving reprieve to dozens of species of magnificent marine mammals. But
its ruling also sends a message loud and clear to the White House that it is
not above our nation's environmental laws. The Bush administration trampled all
over those laws when it gave the Navy a blank check to operate the deadly LFA
sonar system virtually anywhere in the world.

It's also a banner day for hundreds of thousands of NRDC members and activists
like you. When we began this fight eight years ago, we were told that our
chances of stopping the military's classified LFA program were slim to none.
But that conventional wisdom seriously underestimated the collective power of a
determined citizenry.

Your financial contributions and online activism fueled an NRDC legal strategy
that prevailed, in the end, over the world's most powerful military
establishment. There is no finer example of democracy in action.

The fight to protect our oceans against high-intensity sonar is not over. The
Navy could appeal the court's ruling. And right now the Bush administration is
trying to get exemptions for the Navy from some of the very environmental laws
NRDC used to block deployment of the LFA system. With your help, NRDC will do
everything it can to ensure that these efforts do not succeed.

But all that lies ahead. For today, at least, we've won a significant victory,
one worth savoring and celebrating. On behalf of our entire legal team, I want
to thank you for coming to the defense of marine mammals around the world.

Sincerely,

John H. Adams
President
Natural Resources Defense Council

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