The Whalewatch campaign is lobbying the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to halt "research" whaling, maintain the ban on commercial whaling and bring the issue of cruelty back to the fore.

"Given the constantly moving environment in which whales live and are hunted, there are inherent difficulties in achieving a quick, clean kill," the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA), a leading member of the 140 groups involved in the campaign, said in a statement.

More than 1,400 whales are expected to die this year alone in commercial or scientific operations by the traditional whaling nations of Norway, Iceland and Japan, according to London-based WSPA.

However Peter Davies, WSPA's director general, said: "The cruelty behind whaling has become obscured in recent years by abstract arguments over population statistics.

"The fact is that, whether it is one whale or a thousand, whaling is simply wrong on cruelty grounds alone."

Whalewatch is lobbying the IWC before the commission's annual meeting in Italy in July. Last year's meeting forced through a measure to increase the protection of whales but almost every other proposal ended in deadlock.

The campaign argues that the whaler's harpoon often fails to kill its victim instantaneously and some whales take over an hour to die.

Japan's deep-sea research whaling fleet is currently on its annual voyage to the Antarctic Ocean, where it will kill up to 440 minke whales.

The country stopped commercial whaling in 1988 after agreeing to an IWC moratorium but used a loophole to begin what it calls research whaling.

Iceland resumed research whaling after 14 years last August, in defiance of world opinion, while Norway has an opt-out clause from the moratorium.

Japan argues that the research backs up its claims that whale populations are thriving and consuming valuable fish stocks, while opponents argue it is just commercial whaling in disguise.

Whale meat is considered a delicacy and served cooked or raw at specialised restaurants in Japan.

TERRA.WIRE