International Whaling Commission kicks off in Chile

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File photo shows an endangered Fin Whale being butchered  in the port of Hvalfjrour, Iceland. The International  Whaling Commission, a treaty organization grouping 80  countries, is to meet in Chile to debate a possible  resumption of commercial whale-hunting. (AFP/Greenpeace/File/Ragnar Axelsson)

Japan, Norway and Iceland continue to hunt hundreds of whales every year, claiming the hunting is a tradition and for scientific research.

Australia and New Zealand say all whales need protection, threatening to take Japan to international court.

This year, Japan has presented the Commission with a resolution to legalize coastal whaling. It is the same resolution that anti-whaling countries blocked a year ago.

Meanwhile, Latin American nations submitted a plan to create a whale sanctuary in the South Atlantic.

Outside the meeting, environmentalists have gathered to protest the killing of whales.

Editor:Du Xiaodan