Lisbon/Funchal - The International Whaling Commission (IWC) on Thursday decided to postpone controversial decisions at its 61st annual meeting on the Portuguese island of Madeira, environmentalists said.

The sources described the decision as a "scandal," saying it would send a negative signal to the public opinion.

The 85-nation IWC put off a decision on Denmark's proposal to allow Greenland's indigenous inhabitants to hunt 50 humpback whales over five years.

The proposal was to be dealt with by an extra meeting by the end of the year.

That increased the likelihood of the proposal being approved, because many countries might not want to spend funds on attending the supplementary meeting, said Nicolas Entrup of the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS).

Greenland residents currently hunt a restricted number of large whales and more than 4,000 smaller whales in what is regarded as subsistence whaling.

Denmark argues that allowing a limited hunt of humpback whales would not endanger the species.

The European Union was deeply split over the issue, according to sources at the meeting.

The IWC also postponed by a year a decision on Japan's request to authorize quasi-commercial whaling off its coast.

In exchange, Japan would scale down its "scientific" whaling programme which kills up to 1,000 whales annually.

Critics say the scientific whaling is only a cover-up for commercial whaling, because much of the whale meat is sold for consumption.

Norway and Iceland are the only countries that officially do not abide by the 1986 international moratorium on whale hunting.

The IWC was "throwing away taxpayers' money" on an indecisive meeting, Entrup complained. (dpa)