The global body regulates whaling has proposed giving the green light to Japan to keep hunting the sea mammals in return for reducing the number of animals killed. Greenpeace and the World Wild Fund for Nature harshly condemned the draft plan which aims to unlock stalled talks when the 85-nation International Whaling Commission (IWC) meets next month in Florida. While Greenpeace called it "a dangerous throwback to the 20th century when whales were hunted to near extinction," the WWF said it "could legitimize 'scientific' whaling by Japan in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary."

Whaling plan to okay hunts with fewer kills. (2010, February 25). Manila Bulletin, p. 8.