Whales are doing well so it’s time to scrap the body that once protected them, says former head

The International Whaling Commission has become a zombie' and should vote to disband itself, insists Peter Bridgewater

Peter Bridgewater has a clear message for the International Whaling Commission (IWC) that he once led. The organisation - which played a critical role in ending whale hunting in the 1980s - has become a zombie institution that should vote to disband itself at its meeting next month.

The commission did great work, but that was last century," Bridgewater told the Observer last week. Today it has - like so many other international conventions or organisations - outlived its useful life and should be quietly disbanded."