From Sidney Holt
Your news story about the CITES conference just finished in Nairobi chides
those who don’t wish commercial whaling to be reopened yet by referring to
“fast-growing stocks of minke whales”
(29 April, p 6).
There is no scientific evidence that this is happening. We know very roughly
how many there are (plus or minus about 50 per cent), but not in what direction
the population is changing, if at all. The claim you cite is merely pro-whaling
propaganda, not supported by the many scientists working through the
International Whaling Commission.
The DNA technique you say was suggested by Japan was in fact successfully
developed, tested and applied by scientists working with conservation
organisations. It is ready to be used, but Japan’s officials and whalers refuse
to accept arrangements that would make its application transparent and under
international auspices. Given the long history of collusion between Soviet and
Japanese companies and authorities to conceal massive falsification of whale
meat production and trade statistics, small wonder that concerned individuals
are not willing to relax their vigilance while Japanese (and Norwegian)
authorities set up their own closed monitoring system.
As to the elephant, you cite anonymous “elephant specialists” entirely
selectively, giving the impression that all or most experts would agree that
Kenya’s claims about increased poaching are misleading. That is not so. And
anyone who knows about the problem of counting wild animals over huge areas will
take claims that “elephant populations are soaring” with a large pinch of
salt.
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The fact is that they feel the need to “cull” large numbers of elephants in
South Africa not for the sake of the elephants or of their habitat, nor
primarily to prevent them killing or injuring local people, but in order to keep
the game parks neat and tidy. That has nothing to do with conservation.
Crickhowell, Powys
