FRIGATE BAY, Saint Kitts and Nevis - June 20, 2006 (UPI) -- The Caribbean countries that helped Japan win a narrow victory at the International Whaling Commission could face a backlash from environmentally concerned tourists.
The six countries, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, joined 27 other states in voting to end the moratorium on hunting whales, the Los Angeles Times reported. The resolution passed 33-32, but that vote does not actually end the hunting ban.
Tourism is the major industry in all of the island nations, and environmental groups began talking about boycotts almost immediately.
"People come to this region to see nature at its best," Joth Singh of the International Fund for Animal Welfare said. "Individuals for whom whaling is abhorrent will think twice about going to a destination where their values are not shared."
Japan did not try to press its advantage by calling for votes on abolishing the IWC's conservation committee and ending Greenpeace's observer status. Joji Morishita, the Japanese delegate, said he did not want to polarize the commission.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
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