"Pro- and anti-whaling nations locked horns Monday as the International Whaling Commission (IWC) began meeting in Brazil amid outrage over Japan's proposal to end a three-decade moratorium on commercial whale hunting.
Brazil's Environment Minister Edson Duarte told the opening session it was 'time for progress, not setbacks,' reminding delegates of their 'duty to give definitive direction to the conservation of cetaceans.'
Incoming IWC chairman Joji Morishita said the meeting could determine the future of the 89-member intergovernmental body, torn for years by nagging disputes between conservationists and whalers."
Source: AFP, 09/11/2018
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