One month before the Chilean capital hosts a meeting of the International Whaling Commission, President Michelle Bachelet has repeated her rejection of allowing hunts for scientific purposes. In her public address to Congress on May 21, Bachelet announced a bill to declare Chile as a nation free of cetacean hunting, and that all such marine mammals will be declared “natural monuments”.

Elsa Cabrera, director of the non-governmental Cetacean Conservation Center, which has led a campaign for Chile to declare its waters a whale sanctuary, applauded the announcement and said she is optimistic about the scope of the proposed legislation.

“With this announcement, Chile has positioned itself as host of the next Commission meeting,” she told Tierramérica.