A man stands behind a deadly harpoon aboard a whaling ship, patiently waiting for the next whale to surface. Photo ©: Francois Gohier / Ardea London
	Please visit WhaleWatch.org and take a moment to send an e-postcard to your commissioner on the IWC to let them know that you support a ban on commercial whaling and that you want the IWC to use its authority to protect the welfare of whales.
	Kid Power - How children can help save the whales! If you would like to learn about other ways to help save the world's whales, please visit WSPA's whale activities page and participate in the international origami whale project.

Monday, May 10th marks the opening of Norway's infamous whaling season. Norway plans to kill 670 minke whales this year. The Whalewatch coalition is calling upon the government of Norway to 'declare peace' on these magnificent ocean creatures by putting a stop to the killing of whales for profit and complying with the international ban on commercial whaling.

Despite the ban, Norway continues to hunt whales commercially each year using the traditional harpoon method of killing. Although the harpoon is destructive, it often fails to kill a whale outright, leaving many to suffer unimaginable pain for an indeterminate amount of time. Norway reported that one in five whales failed to die instantaneously during its 2002 hunt, with some taking more than 40 minutes to die.

Norway is home to the Nobel Peace Prize and prides itself as being an international facilitator for peace. The continuation of commercial whaling flies in the face of Norway's own beliefs about international cooperation and humane resolutions. Peter Davies, WSPA's Director General, said, "It is time that Norway, a country famed for its association with the Nobel Peace Prize, applied the concept of peace and humanity to the whales that it will otherwise allow to be killed in an undeniably cruel way."

A recent report released by Whalewatch, "Troubled Waters," exposes the inherent, inescapable cruelty involved in the modern day killing of whales. Although commercial whaling has been banned for nearly 20 years, over 20,000 whales have been killed since the ban was enacted. More than 1,400 whales will be killed this year alone, which is why Whalewatch is aggressively lobbying the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to put a stop to all commercial and so-called 'scientific' whaling operations while maintaining the current ban based upon welfare considerations.