Last month this site noted that the Makah Indian Tribe was awaiting a judgment on its latest appeal in its quest to once again hunt whales. Earlier this month the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the tribe’s request for a hearing before the full court, leaving in place a decision by a three judge panel of the court halting the whale hunt.
The three judge panel ruled that the whale hunt is subject to the Marine Mammal Protection Act despite the tribe’s treat with the U.S. government guaranteeing it the right to hunt whales.
Obtaining a permit to hunt whales under the Marine Mammal Protection Act will requires a full-scale environmental analysis of the hunt and years of delay.
Fund for Animals director Michael Markarian told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer that,
The Court of Appeals has been emphatic on this point . . . and it’s obviously something the American public doesn’t want.
Makah tribal member Wayne Johnson, however, said of the ruling that,
It’s another treaty broken by the United States.
Sources:
Court rebuffs Makah’s appeal over whaling. Lewis Kamb, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, June 8, 2004.
Makah whaling review denied. Christopher Dunagan, TheSunLink.Com, June 8, 2004.