Whales all sorted, cosmetics tests next

Mark Dawson, Editor of Wanganui Chronicle

The last time Wales played Japan it ended up 38-6 to Wales at the Millenium Stadium, Cardiff.

This week it was Whales 1 Japan 0 (or 12-4 if you go on the judges' scorecards) and the venue was the International Court of Justice at The Hague.

The "sport" was whale-hunting for "scientific research", but Japan was shown to be short on both science and research and the legal victory outlawing this activity is one to savour.

New Zealand and Australia can feel proud of their stand to stop Japan's research programme - as can the massed conservationists and green pirates who have taken the battle to the high seas.

Whales are as spectacular as they are unique. They are also very big and sufficiently iconic to get noticed by politicians and environmentalists alike who will take up their cause. Of course, a lot of smaller, less iconic creatures are also spectacular and unique - and many are getting wiped out with barely a whimper.

It would be nice to think the NZ and Aussie governments, having come to the rescue of whales, would help out other endangered species with the same zeal.

Whales make headlines, the worrying drop in the bee population gets some traction, butthe minutiae that makes up some of our eco-systems hardly causes a ripple. And, in an election year, there are other issues to promote and fight over - although the basic economy-versus-environment debate is common to many of them.

But for those sufficiently moved by the saving of the whales, there is another animal campaign they can back - banning the testing of cosmetics on animals.

There are moves to get such a ban included in a review of the Animal Welfare Act - even a number of cosmetic companies are supporting the idea - and if it became law it would be another moment to savour, up there with this week's triumph.