Update 06/28/10: At last week's IWC meeting, the Commission was unable to reach a compromise, so the whaling ban still stands (although Greenland was granted permission to hunt a small number of humpback whales off its coast). The proposal to lift the ban has been tabled for another year. Please ask the commissioners to investigate the corruption leading up to this year's vote and to continue to uphold the moratorium in the future.

On June 21, 2010, the International Whaling Commission will vote on a proposal to lift the ban on commercial whaling.

The process leading up to this vote has been anything but transparent. Closed door meetings were just the beginning. Recent investigations have shown that Japan has spent over 60 billion yen disguised as "foreign aid," buying votes of IWC members by paying for their travel, sponsoring their membership fees, and even offering call girls and envelopes of money.

The countries involved in this corruption should be held accountable for their actions. Whale protection should not be based on special interests and bribery.

Ask the IWC to take immediate action to investigate this corruption before they vote on the future of our whales.