Japan Ordered To Halt Whale Hunt

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First published in Sanctuary Asia, Vol. 34 No. 4, April 2014
A Minke whale and her one-year-old calf are dragged aboard the Nisshin Maru, a Japanese whaling vessel that is the world's only factory ship. Photo Courtesy:  Australian Customs and Border Protection Service/Wikimedia Commons.

Despite a worldwide moratorium, Japan has been hunting the marine mammals under the guise of scientific research, using a loophole in the 1986 ban on commercial whaling. Judge Peter Tomka ruled that, "Japan shall revoke any extant authorisation, permit or license granted in relation to JARPA II, and refrain from granting any further permits in pursuance of that program." The ruling comes after Australia challenged Japan's hunting in the Southern Ocean saying that scientific research was just a cover for commercial hunting. Since 1988, Japan has allegedly slaughtered more than 10,000 whales. Meanwhile, Norway and Iceland continue to have commercial whaling programmes.

Author: Lakshmy Raman. 

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