The International Whale Commission meeting was held this year in Santiago, Chile. Even though the Commission has to conserve and manage whale population, the countries which attended the meeting didn’t agree on what the next move would be.

On one hand we have the pro-hunting nations led by Japan, which say that the whale population has expanded, allowing their hunting and, on the other hand, there are the anti-hunting countries led by Australia, which are against the commercial exploitation of whales.

According to the Voice of America, Australian Environment Minister Peter Garrett said Canberra shouldn’t be convinced by Japan, adding that Australia was not willing to compromise in any way.

“We are strongly of the view that this commission needs to focus on the science of conservation, not on the science of killing whales,” said Garrett.

Glenn Inwood, a spokesman for Japan, said that Australian minister made a wrong move with his demands and should have tried, like the rest of the countries, to come up with a solution instead of being against any compromise.

“I think it's a huge miscalculation for the Australian minister to step straight off the plane and come here to this meeting with fresh demands when the rest of the IWC is trying to come up with an 11th hour solution to save it from collapse,”  said Inwood, according to the Voice of America.

Japan wants to remove the ban on commercial whaling, which was set in 1986. At one point Japan said it would leave the IWC if it doesn’t allow hunting. Australia firmly opposes the whale harvest in the Antarctic, saying it is not necessary to kill the whale.