The world’s long-standing ban on commercial whaling is likely to remain intact despite a concerted effort from pro-whaling countries to overturn it in the next few days.

Japan will lead attempts this week at the annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission in St Kitts and Nevis to change the two-decade-old agreed rules on whaling that prohibit hunting of the mammals but allow a small number to be culled each year for the purposes of scientific research. But Japan said on Friday it was unlikely to gather enough votes from other countries in the 70-member commission to redraw the rules.