Fed: Aust calls for whales to be spared death
23 Jun 2009 11:25 PM
CANBERRA, June 23 AAP - Australia has used a global forum to call for an end to lethal scientific research on whales.
With Japan in his sights, Environment Minister Peter Garrett told the International Whaling Commission in Portugal on Tuesday that scientific experiments needed to be done humanely.
Australia wants the commission to supervise the scientific testing of whales, with research based on "genuine scientific need".
"Australia's proposal also provides that all scientific research is undertaken in the most humane and ethical way, because the use of animals in the name of science, including outside laboratory setting, carries with it a responsibility to take all reasonable steps to prevent unnecessary death and suffering," Mr Garrett told the commission in Madeira.
