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Australian Prime Minister Threatens Japanese Whaling Program with Legal Action
Image Source: Flickr. By: Michael Dawes.
In an effort to finally put a stop to the whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, issued a November deadline for Japan to stop their research whaling program.
The whaling program is sponsored by the Institute for Cetacean Research and while it’s possible a portion of the whales might be used for research, most of the meat ends up sold for consumption. Many people believe the selling of the meat is the true reason why the Japanese are whaling in the Antarctic, even though commercial whaling was banned by the International Whaling Commission in 1986. However, since a portion of the slaughtered whales goes to “science”, the Japanese have continuously slipped through a loophole that allows whaling for the sake of scientific research.
Now, Australia has been known as an anti-whaling nation for a long time. Given that a number of their residents support the Sea Shepherd crew (and are even part of the crew), it’s no surprise why. While some (such as the above mentioned) try to take a more direct approach at stopping the whaling, Rudd would rather use a more diplomatic method to convince Japan to stop its annual hunt. In a statement, Rudd explained:
“If that fails, then we will initiate court action before the commencement of the whaling season in November 2010. That’s the bottom line and we’re very clear to the Japanese, that’s what we intend to do.”
Certainly, this is great news to hear. With the possibility of Japanese whaling being stopped on the horizon, it may mean a victory for whale lovers and Sea Shepherd supporters everywhere. The only down side is, Australia is also known for not backing up their legal threats. Legal action has been threatened against the Japanese in the past. This includes Australia going to the point of sending a ship to Antarctic waters to collect videos and photos of the whaling fleet, which would be used as evidence in an international forum. However, it never was used and no other follow ups were made—until now.
Whether the whaling stops by diplomatic means, frontline activist action, or some yet unforeseen method, I certainly hope it will stop sooner than later.
By Heidi Marshall
Tags: australia, Australian prime minister threatens Japan, Japanese Whaling, legal action, Sea Shepherd, stop whaling
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Please sign the ORCAS petition to the IWC to stop commercial whaling before it starts – let’s save the whales again!
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/petition/252667595