Japan and its whaling allies have sunk hopes to create a South Atlantic sanctuary for whales that environmentalists say are endangered by hunting.

Five African and South American countries brought the proposal before the International Whaling Commission.  It needed three quarters of the 88 nations to pass, but Japan rounded up 23 other countries to oppose it. 

Japan, Norway, Iceland, and a handful of other countries defy the 30-year global moratorium on whaling by taking advantage of a loophole that allows harvesting animals for supposed "scientific" research.  In Japan's case, that means that the carcasses are briefly examined before becoming dinner for the small, aging, politically-powerful ultra-nationalist minority that considers the meat a delicacy (or as a physical example of their desire not to be bossed around by outsiders).

Pro-sanctuary are not happy:  "Brazil does not accept the practice (of scientific whaling)," said Brazil's envoy to the IWC, Hermano Telles Ribeiro, "the (loophole) should not be there at all."  Ribeiro said it was high time to tighten the 70-year-old International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling.

Environmentalists maintain that the South Atlantic is crucial to preserving whale diversity.  "This is an area that is critically important to a wide range of whale species," said Matt Collis of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).