Japan launches new campaign to push whale meat consumption

Japan’s Institute for Cetacean Research, the body behind the country’s cruel whale hunting, has launched a new campaign to try to sell vast stockpiles of whale meat by claiming that it enhances physical strength and reduces fatigue.

Around 5,000 tonnes of whale meat currently sits in freezers around Japan because demand is so low. Younger Japanese generations have turned away from eating whale meat and so the institute hopes to renew their interest by advertising whale meat as a great source of balenine – a substance that supposedly enhances energy and physical health. Out of desperation, the meat is also being fed to soldiers to ‘boost their strength’

Japan uses a loophole in the ban on commercial whaling by claiming it is only killing whales for scientific purposes. However, some whale and dolphin meat contains significant amounts of toxins and this new drive to convince a sceptical nation to eat the meat is further proof that Japanese whale hunts are far from being scientific.