18. CETACEAN BEHAVIOUR AND INTELLIGENCE AND THE ETHICS OF KILLING CETACEANS (1980)

18. CETACEAN BEHAVIOUR AND INTELLIGENCE AND THE ETHICS OF KILLING CETACEANS

(from "Chairman's Report of the Thirty-Second Annual Meeting")

The commission received a report on the meeting it had co-sponsored held in Washington D.C. in April/May 1980. Unfortunately, few members of the Scientific Committee took part, but a wide range of topics was addressed and there were frank exchanges of views.

Whilst it was evident that there were widely differing views on the need and justification for whaling it did appear that significant progress had been made in clarifying issues and the Commission accepted a recommendation endorsed by the Technical Committee that a Workshop be established by the Scientific Committee for further detailed examination of those matters identified as being of greatest significance to the assessment and management of cetaceans. This is in accordance with the recommendation of the Scientific Committee in 1979 and it was agreed that a meeting should be held in 1981/82.

There was some discussion of the Washington meeting recommendation to develop a dialogue with philosophers with respect to the ethics of whaling, but the Technical Committee agreed to make no recommendation on this matter.