Countries issue statement condemning Japanese antarctic whaling resumption
WDC welcomes the recent statement by the US, Australia, New Zealand and the Netherlands condemning Japan’s decision to renew whaling in Antarctica.
As well as highlighting the dangers of operating in such a hostile environment, the statement goes on to say:
“Our Governments remain resolutely opposed to commercial whaling, in particular in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary established by the International Whaling Commission. We do not believe that Japan has sufficiently demonstrated that it has given due regard to the guidance found in the 2014 International Court of Justice judgment on ensuring that lethal research whaling is consistent with the obligations under the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling. On December 7, 2015, our Governments joined 29 other nations to protest Japan’s decision. We urged Japan to respect the International Whaling Commission’s procedures and the advice of its Expert Review Panel and Scientific Committee. The science is clear: all information necessary for management and conservation of whales can be obtained through non-lethal methods.”
Japan’s whaling fleet set sail for Antarctica in early December in defiance of the International Court of Justice’s ruling in 2014 which forced the country to cease whaling operations in the region.
