Whaling Ban Threatened

A handful of countries, serving only their own greedy self-interests at the expense of the world\u27s few remaining great whales, are threatening to sabotage the only hope of survival left to these magnificent creatures. Japan, the U.S.S.R., Norway, and Peru have filed formal objections with the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to that body\u27s landmark decision to ban commercial whaling as of 1986. Iceland, Brazil, and South Korea, the world\u27s other whaling nations, may join this infamous quartet and add their own objections before the filing deadline in 1983. Unless animal-welfare proponents act decisively now, years of negotiation and scientific inquiry--and the historic vote of July 23, 1982--could be jeopardized