School children to deliver clear message to EU on the eve of commercial whaling vote: Please stop whaling!

When: 22nd June, 11.30am (local time) Why: Delivery of 180,000 anti-whaling postcard petition Where: In front of EU Commission HQ, Berlaymont Building, Brussels Who: To be delivered to the EU Environment Commissioner

Details An anti-whaling protest by more than 180,000 people from 11 different countries will be taken to the heart of the EU this Tuesday (22nd June). Thousands of postcards filled in by visitors to Sea Life Centres across the globe calling for an end to whaling will be among those delivered in person to the European Commissioner for the Environment, Janez Potocnik in Brussels at 11:30am. School children from the little town of Dudzele near Brugge (Belgium) will deliver the postcards in mail sacks bearing 11 different national flags, representing the nations concerned. The handover will take place just days before the International Whaling Commission (IWC) votes on a proposal to lift the current 24 year long ban on commercial whaling. The proposal is feared all the more likely to succeed because of a farcical EU voting system that forces the EU Member States to abstain on the issue of whaling unless they are unanimous, rather than allowing the vast majority to vote against it. The postcard petition was initiated by Sea Life and its campaign partner, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS), and has been run throughout Sea Life Centres across Europe and in the US. “Now it is the turn of the European Union to take a clear position against whaling”, said Chris Butler-Stroud, WDCS chief executive. “This petition proves that Europe’s citizens are strongly opposed to whaling, as are many individual EU Member States, but the European Union, as a block, has failed to stand strong against moves to bring back commercial whaling in recent months. “Indeed, the EU’s dithering may well help commercial whaling return. This is appalling and not in the interests of whales or the peoples of Europe.” Sea Life’s Senior Marine Biologist Rob Hicks said he was delighted that so many people had signed up in support of efforts to end whaling. “We really hope EU ministers will heed their wishes and take the important step of blocking this latest move to get whaling legalised,” he said. “There is no humane way to kill a whale, no sustainable market for whale meat and no ethical justification for continuing to butcher these magnificent animals.” -Ends- Photo opportunities: • School children from Dudzele on step ladders emptying their sacks of postcards onto a XX foot high postcard mountain outside the EU. • Line up of school children marching towards the entrance of the European Commission, carrying bags over their shoulders which will have the logos of 11 different national flags. • Children handing over the postcards to European Commissioner for the Environment, Janez Potocnik PLEASE NOTE THAT IMAGES OF THE ABOVE CAN BE PROVIDED BY CONTACTING THE FOLLOWING; For further information please call: Ellie Cowley (44) 01202 440066 Or WDCS Press Office on 01249 449 534, 07834 498 277 or email press@wdcs.org