Illegal Whale Meat Makes Its Way to Japan Via Halifax

It appears that there is a legal loophole that allows illegal whale meat to traverse the entire Canadian nation in plain sight without authorities saying so much as a “whoopsy daisy”.

Environmental group Greenpeace is demanding the Canadian government do more to prohibit the meat, which in this case was from fin whales, from entering the country.

The shipment in question was processed in Iceland and it bound for Japan. The shipping containers were received in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where they were loaded onto train and sent across country.

Environment Canada basically said its hands are tied despite international agreements that list the fin whale as a protected species. Apparently, a well-constructed loophole requires both nations participating in the trade to agree on the listing for the containers. With no regard for the actual contents, if there is no agreement as to the listing the containers may proceed unabated. Environment Canada acknowledged the shipment contained fin whale meat, but was powerless to stop the shipment by law.

The Scandinavian island of Iceland “stopped” commercial whaling in 1986, but if that is the case how did they obtain the fin whale flesh? Regardless, Greenpeace would like to see trade law reforms to prevent further shipments from passing through Canada.

On The Web:
Endangered whale meat shipped via Halifax en route to Japan
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/endangered-whale-meat-shipped-via-halifax-en-route-to-japan-1.2541968