Japan drops humpback slaughter
p2pnet news | Off Topic:- Japan is abandoning its heavily criticized plan to kill protected humpback whales off Antarctica.
“The move follows Australia’s announcement on Wednesday that it would send a fisheries patrol ship to gather evidence for a possible International Court challenge to halt Japan’s yearly slaughter,” says Reuters.
But this won’t affect the country’s plan to hunt minke and fin whales.
The Japanese whaling fleet launched in November to catch more than 1,000 whales, including 50 humpbacks, hunted to the brink of extinction.
“It is due back early next year. Japan, which says whaling is a cherished cultural tradition, abandoned commercial whaling in accordance with an international moratorium in 1986, but began what it calls a scientific research whaling program the following year,” says Reuters.
“Speaking to reporters on Friday, Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura defended his country’s whaling, saying it was in line with international treaties and he saw no problem with it.”
The plan to resume humpback slaughter after 40 years, “triggered global protests, with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd ordering a ship to trail the fleet to collect evidence,” says Bloomberg News, adding:
“Japan’s back-down came hours after Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura said he’d try to explain Japan’s position to Australia, and represents a victory for Rudd’s four-week-old government.”
But Australian foreign minister Stephen Smith said in Australia’s view, “there was no good reason for Japan to continue any sort of whaling,” says the Sydney Morning Herald, going on:
“The Australian government strongly believes that there is no credible justification for the hunting of any whales and will vigorously pursue its efforts, announced earlier this week, to see an end to whaling by Japan,” Smith said through a spokesman.
Australia is due to take its diplomatic protest a step further on Friday night when its ambassador in Tokyo, Murray McLean, will present the Japanese government with Canberra’s formal protest, adds the story.
Says the Wikipedia:
“Like other large whales, the Humpback was and is a target for the whaling industry. Due to over-hunting its population fell by an estimated 90% before a whaling moratorium was introduced in 1966. Stocks of the species have since partially recovered; however, entanglement in fishing gear, collisions with ships, and noise pollution also remain concerns. There are at least 70,000 humpback whales worldwide.”
Also See:
Reuters – Japan removes humpback whales from Antarctic hunt, December 21, 2007
Bloomberg News – Japan Scraps Hunt for Humpback Whales After Protest, December 21, 2007
Sydney Morning Herald – Japan decision on humpbacks ‘not enough’, December 21, 2007
Want to help p2pnet stay online? Please click here.
Use free p2pnet newsfeeds for your site. It’s really easy!
Subscribe to p2pnet.net | | rss feed: http://p2pnet.net/p2p.rss | | Mobile – http://p2pnet.net/index-wml.php
