Whales hunting ban - final vote

It's crunch time in the fight to protect whales! Let's get to 1 million signatures this week, before the final vote -- forward the email below to everyone!

Dear friends,

The international vote that could legalize commercial whale hunting is just days away. 650,000 of us have signed the petition to protect whales, and an Avaaz team is on the ground to make sure we're heard -- let's super-charge this campaign by hitting 1 million signatures! Add your name and then forward this message:

In one week, the International Whaling Commission will hold its final vote on a proposal to legalize commercial whale hunting for the first time in a generation.

The outcome rests on whose voices are heard most clearly in the final hours: the pro-whaling lobby -- or the world's people?

More than 650,000 of us have signed the petition to protect whales -- it's time to reach 1 million! At the whale summit in Morocco, an Avaaz team is setting up billboards, front-page newspaper ads, and a giant, constantly-updating petition counter -- all to ensure that delegates, from the moment they step off the plane until they cast their votes, will see from our explosive numbers that the world will not accept legal whale slaughter. Click to sign, and forward this email to everyone:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/whales_last_push/?vl

Thanks to the worldwide outcry, many governments have already pledged to oppose the proposal. Each time the Avaaz whale petition added 100,000 signatures, it was sent again to the IWC and key governments -- some, like New Zealand, thanked all of us who had signed on.

But pressure from the other side has been relentless. Now other governments, especially in Europe and Latin America, may abstain... or even support the proposal. The vote could go either way.

Citizen pressure is our best hope. After all, it was an explosive worldwide social movement in the 1980s that led to the commercial whaling ban we're now trying to protect. As the International Whaling Commission meets in Morocco -- starting this Thursday, the 17th, with the crucial vote less than a week away -- let's make sure the world's voices are there to greet them:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/whales_last_push/?vl

After the global ban was first implemented on commercial whaling, the number of whales killed each year plummeted from 38,000 per year to just a couple of thousand. It's a testament to the power of humanity to move forward. As we move to confront the other crises of the modern age, let's cherish this legacy of progress -- by joining together now to protect our majestic and intelligent neighbors on this fragile planet.

With hope,

Ben, Ben M, Maria Paz, Ricken, Benjamin, David, Graziela, Luis, and the whole Avaaz team

P.S.: Despite the ban, Japan, Norway, and Iceland have continued whaling -- and are now pushing to make the IWC proposal as lenient as possible. Expecting permission to catch more whales than ever, Japan is reportedly planning to buy its largest whaling ship yet. Click here to sign the petition against commercial whaling!

SOURCES:

IWC Voting on Whale Hunting Moratorium Next Week
http://goo.gl/7m0y‎

"IWC whaling proposal 'offensive'", New Zealand Herald
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10640398

"Flights, girls and cash buy Japan whaling votes" - a new exposé by the Times of London
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article7149086.ece

The other side: IWC Chairman defends whaling proposal
http://www.avaaz.org/commercial_whaling_support

"Nations Push To Develop New Whale-based Products" - anticipating the end of the whaling ban, whaling nations planning whale-based products including golf balls and detergent
http://goo.gl/aoH1

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Donate to this campaign! Avaaz's work on whales, like all its campaigns, is funded entirely by donations -- we receive no money from governments or corporations. Support the billboards and stunts at the whale summit -- click here to make a secure contribution!

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Avaaz.org is a 4.9-million-person global campaign network that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people shape global decision-making. ("Avaaz" means "voice" or "song" in many languages.) Avaaz members live in every nation of the world; our team is spread across 13 countries on 4 continents and operates in 14 languages. Learn about some of Avaaz's biggest campaigns here, or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

To contact Avaaz, write to us at www.avaaz.org/en/contact or call us at +1-888-922-8229 (US).