The House of Representatives has passed a resolution urging the United States to do all it can to end commercial whaling.
The resolution that passed Wednesday night calls on U.S. officials attending this month's International Whaling Commission meeting in Chile to work to protect the world's whales.
Democratic Rep. Nick Rahall says whales are threatened by pollution, climate change and continued hunting. He says Japan and Iceland "exploit loopholes" to continue to hunt whales "under the guise of 'scientific whaling.'"
Iceland stopped whale hunting in 1986 in line with guidelines laid down by the International Whaling Commission but resumed in 2006. Japan and Norway have long campaigned alongside Iceland to reintroduce commercial whaling.
