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Press Releases
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM -- (MARKET WIRE), 23 May 2007 -- Singer and committed conservationist, Olivia Newton-John, has thrown her support behind an unusual television advertising campaign which is running this month in six small island states in the West Indies. The campaign is the brainchild of English entrepreneur and parliamentarian, Lord Ashcroft, who last year made a record $1 million donation to John Howard's Liberal party. Ashcroft has commissioned a television advertising campaign which he hopes will persuade the inhabitants of six small Caribbean nations not to back Japanese-inspired plans to overturn the ban on commercial whale hunting at the forthcoming International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting which is taking place in Anchorage. Olivia Newton-John has welcomed Lord Ashcroft's initiative, "This is a wonderful act, and Michael deserves to succeed. I appreciate that he does not claim to be a conservationist, but he and I stand absolutely together on this subject. We all need to ensure that whales, dolphins and porpoises are fully protected. Future generations must be able to witness these magnificent creatures, not just read about them in history books." Ten years ago, Olivia Newton-John was asked to write a song for a powerful documentary called 'The Last Whale', an expose of Japanese attempts to buy the votes of small countries in the Caribbean and South Pacific to block a proposal for a sanctuary for whales in the Antarctic. The Last Whale was broadcast in Australia by the Nine network and subsequently in much of the rest of the world. It was seen to have been influential in the establishment by the IWC of the Southern Ocean Sanctuary. The Japanese now plan to kill fifty humpback whales next year in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary itself. Lord Ashcroft is attempting to persuade the Caribbean nations to resist the Japanese, and to vote at the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in favour of the whales, and in favour a continuation of the ban on whaling. Olivia Newton-John has observed whales as far apart as the South Pacific and Alaska, where she watched pods of killer whales from the beach. In Alaska she also watched young Dall's porpoises, "They would race to play with us in the wake beneath our boat, their faces in a permanent smile." She has said that she wants "to encourage everyone to encounter and embrace Mother Earth". However, the fate of Dall's porpoises off the coast of Japan, where in just one year 40,000 were slaughtered by the Japanese, angered her to the point where in the late 70's she cancelled a tour of Japan in protest. Her song, 'Silent Ruin' speaks of the plight of whales and dolphins everywhere. Media Contacts: Alan Kilkenny 01264 781228/07836 311639 Footnotes: SOURCE: Alan Kilkenny Note To Editors: Lord Ashcroft does not profess to be a conservationist or an environmentalist, and he is not philosophically opposed to the killing of animals, but only if it is necessary. Other than the minor exception of aboriginal subsistence whaling, he believes that there is no justification, on either scientific or commercial grounds, for the killing of some of the world's most beautiful creatures. In recent years, the Japanese government, recognising the importance of national votes at the IWC, has been actively recruiting support from some of the world's smaller nations, trading financial assistance for pro-whaling votes at IWC meetings. The governments of six island nations in the eastern Caribbean, with a combined population of about half a million people, have succumbed to such overtures. They are Antigua & Barbuda; Dominica; Grenada; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Saint Vincent & the Grenadines. In every case, the Japanese have provided these nations with financial support in the form of fisheries aid. Lord Ashcroft wrote an open letter to the citizens of these nations, in which he said: "Independent sovereign nations must of course be free to make their own decisions. I ask you though to reconsider your nation's support for the Japanese proposal to re-commence the killing of whales. I write as someone who cares deeply for the Caribbean, and who believes that standing now against the Japanese is in the best interests of these nations." "The pressures upon our governments and upon their peoples are numerous. Every Caribbean nation needs revenue from beyond its shores, and public projects everywhere are crying out for overseas support." For these reasons, no-one can blame those who have taken financial help from the Japanese, but that assistance should be freely given. Japanese aid often has unacceptable strings attached. In return for that help, they expect voting support from your nation at the International Whaling Commission. That voting support should now be removed. "We all need the whales. They represent the enduring qualities of our planet. Unfortunately, they also represent our own fragility. We must never take the whales for granted, in the same way that we should never take our planet and these beautiful islands for granted." "Throughout the Caribbean we welcome income from tourism, and tourists come because of the environment. That includes the whales, and the whales themselves represent a much bigger opportunity of sustainable income. In many parts of the world, tourist industries thrive because of whale watching activities. That is not yet the position in the Caribbean, although there are a number of whale watching operations which should be encouraged. These have the potential to generate substantial overseas earnings." "Conversely, supporting a move to reintroduce commercial hunting could well mean that those same tourists turn their backs on the Caribbean, and especially on those island nations that have been the supporters of Japan." "I cannot understand how or why anyone would wish to take the life of one of our most beautiful creatures. It is impossible to justify. The Japanese aid to the nations of the eastern Caribbean is resulting in Japan killing more and more species protected under international law." "I ask you please to reconsider and to support the continuation of the whaling ban. Whales have inhabited our oceans for millions of years. Help to protect them. Please." Submitted by Asia Release on Wednesday, 23 May 2007 at 7:34 PM Category: Education |
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