The full-page advertisement by the Animal Welfare Institute, et al., "Blood and Gore" (May 17 Page A5) demonstrates that these groups have too much money and not enough integrity.

The ad is designed to whip Americans into a jingoist frenzy against a certain foreign country, described as "bloody" and "outlaw." What did this country do: Blow up the World Trade Center? Conduct "ethnic cleansing" operations? Slaughter unarmed students at Tiananmen Square?

No, the monster that is supposed to rouse our hate is Norway, the greatest menace to the planet is Norway's Prime Minister Gro Harlem Bruntland. Her "crime": supporting scientifically regulated wildlife management that would permit sustainable use of abundant species, including non-endangered whales.

The ad, by a consortium of radical animal-rights groups, is full of disinformation. A few examples will have to suffice:

• Norway is engaged in "outlaw whaling." False. Norway's whaling is legal under the International Convention on the Regulation of Whaling, of which the United States is a member.

• "President Clinton is empowered . . . to slap economic sanctions on Norway." False. The United States is a member of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Blade (GATT). Launching a trade war to enforce U.S. policy on a foreign nation would be illegal under GATT.

• "The first target . . . could be the California gray whales." False. Norwegians hunt only the abundant and non-endangered minkes whales in their own coastal waters.

• The Revised Management Procedure (RMP) for whale was "developed by Norway and Japan." False. It was developed by the Science Committee of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) at the request of the IWC.

• The RMP could drive "most whales to the brink of extinction." False. A blue-ribbon panel of scientists commissioned by the US. National Marine Fisheries Service found the RMP to be "robust and conservative," concluding that it "can be safely used" to set whaling catch quotas for the next 20 years.

• Mrs. Bruntland came to Washington "to bully President Canton." Whom are they kidding? A peaceloving ally with the population of Louisiana is bullying the world's pre-eminent superpower? They have it backward.

The RMP is a perfect example of international cooperation and conservation in the interest of sustainable development. Norway's minke whaling is legal, humane and in accord with the best available scientific knowledge. It poses no danger to the minks whale population of 1 million or so.

The groups sponsoring this ad are not worried about the costs of a boycott or trade war, because they are making money off the misery of others. For a mere $25 donation, the ad reveals, you can get your very own poster of sperm whales. They know that confusing heavily depleted whale species with the abundant minke whale makes fund-raising easier.

This attempt to dictate by force what kinds of meat other peoples may eat is an act of cultural imperialism. The ultimate irony would be for the administration to heed these anti-whaling activists and impose trade sanctions on Norway for killing whales, after having granted most favored nation status to China, which kills people.

In a shrinking world, the only hope for international peace and a sustainable future is toleration of cultural diversity and, as Mr. Clinton said last year, "a strong commitment to science-based international solutions to global conservation problems." The United States should vote to adopt the RMP at the annual IWC meeting this month.