Nations Mull Secret Whaling Compromise

Representatives from more than 70 governments gathered last week at a secret meeting in London to hash out a compromise that would allow Japan to resume commercial whaling for the first time in more than 20 years. Pro- and anti-whaling nations discussed plans to lift the worldwide ban on whaling, but not without raising the ire of environmentalists, the Independent says.

Japan, which kills more than 1,000 whales yearly and sells the meat, frames its expeditions as scientific research. But skirmishes with activists have escalated, and last week one group threw mild acid at Japan's whaling fleet in the Antarctic. Under the plan, Japan would halt its Antarctic missions, but critics say the compromise is unenforceable and doesn’t offer a lasting solution. (More anti-whaling activists stories.)