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Dominica announces new protections for sperm whales

Dominica has placed almost 800 square kilometers of sea off the west coast of the...
Commerson's dolphin

New Important Marine Mammal Areas added to global ocean conservation list

Commerson's dolphin Experts from a number of countries have mapped out a new set of...
Vaquita. Photo Thomas Jefferson

Scientific Committee gives first ever official species extinction warning

Photo: Thomas Jefferson We have welcomed the urgent call by experts to protect the vaquita...
blue whale

Whale fossil from Peru may have been heavier than blue whale

Scientists examining the bones of a 39 million-year-old ancient whale have concluded that it may...
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  • All policy news
  • Create healthy seas
  • End captivity
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Port River dolphins

New report reveals 100,000 dolphins and small whales hunted every year

When you hear the words ‘dolphin hunts’ it’s likely that you think of Japan or...

Minke whale hunts stop in Iceland

Iceland’s commercial hunt of minke whales has ended for this year. The common minke whale is the...

Japan set to resume commercial whaling

Reports from Japan suggest that the government they will formally propose plans to resume commercial...

End the whale hunts! Icelandic fin whaler isolated as public mood shifts

Here’s a sight I hoped never again to witness. A boat being scrubbed and repainted...

Australian Government to block Japanese whaling proposal

Japanese Government officials have reportedly confirmed that they will propose the resumption of commercial whaling...

Did Icelandic whalers really kill a blue whale?

*Warning - this blog contains an image that you may find upsetting* They say a...

Icelandic whalers breach international law and kill iconic, protected whale by mistake

Icelandic whalers out hunting fin whales for the first time in three years appear to...

Pregnant whales once again a target for Japanese whalers

Figures from Japan's whaling expedition to Antarctica during the 2017/18 austral summer have revealed that...

Doubts remain after Icelandic Marine Institute claims slaughtered whale was a hybrid not a blue

Experts remain sceptical of initial test results issued by the Icelandic Marine Institute, which indicate...

Icelandic fin whale hunting to resume

Iceland’s only fin whaling company, Hvalur hf,  announced today that it will resume fin whaling...

Norway increases whaling quota despite declining demand

Norway's government has announced an increase in the number of minke whales that can be...

Norway's whaling season begins

April 1st saw the start of the whaling season in Norway. Despite a widely-accepted international moratorium...

Japan officially re-enforces intention to resume commercial whaling

Following an announcement this week by Japan that it intends upgrading its ageing lead whale hunting ship, Japan’s prime minister has made his intentions clear regarding a desire to resume commercial whaling.

Currently, Japan gets around the international ban on commercial whaling by killing whales under the guise of scientific research despite the fact that this scientific whaling has been heavily criticised by expert scientist at the International Whaling commission (the body that regulates whaling), by the International court of Justice, the EU parliament and by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) – the global authority on the status of the natural world. Much of the whale meat from these ‘scientific’ hunts actually ends up on general sale in Japan.

On Wednesday, prime minister, Shinzo Abe confirmed his government’s commitment to an eventual resumption of commercial whaling. When asked to comment on the nation’s policy he told the Japanese parliament; ‘We will pursue all possibilities in order to resume commercial whaling, including opportunities at the September meeting of the IWC.   He then went on to say that he ‘favoured a continuation of Japan’s traditional use of whale meat, fat, and baleen in a sustainable manner based on scientific evidence, just like other marine resources.’

The Japanese whaling fleet left port for Antarctica last November to kill up to 333 Antarctic minke whales by next March for ‘research’. 

 

This announcement comes at a time when the European union is finalising talks on the new Economic Partnership Agreement between the two parties. WDC has been campaigning to make whaling a central part of any trade discussions with Japan and we are continuing to work with, and urge EU Member States and the European Parliament not support the trade agreement whilst Japan continues to slaughter whales. Our campaign took a positive step forward a few weeks ago after representatives from WDC were invited to talk directly with the EU representatives.

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