Whaling panel rejects Reagan appeal for ban

The International Whaling Commission rejected an appeal from President Reagan to ban all commercial whaling and voted to allow some whaling to continue. Several countries, including Britain, the United States, and Australia, had called for an end to all commercial whaling. President Reagan made his personal appeal in a letter to the opening session of the 30-nation commission. Conservationists had lobbied the meeting calling for a ban, saying that scientific evidence on whale population numbers was inadequate.