Japan ordered to stop whaling in Antarctic

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JohnN

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THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The International Court of Justice on Monday ordered a temporary halt to Japan's Antarctic whaling program, ruling that it is not for scientific purposes as the Japanese had claimed.
Australia had sued Japan at the U.N.'s highest court for resolving disputes between nations in hopes of ending whaling in the icy Southern Ocean.
Reading a 12-4 decision by the court's 16-judge panel, Presiding Judge Peter Tomka of Slovakia said Japan's program failed to justify the large number of minke whales it aims to catch under its current Antarctic program — 850 annually. It also failed to catch nearly that number, and didn't come closing to catching the 50 fin and 50 humpback whales it also aimed to take.
All that drew into doubt whether Japan's assertion that its whaling is for scientific purposes, he said.
"The evidence does not establish that the program's design and implementation are reasonable in relation to achieving its stated objectives," Tomka said.
The court ordered Japan to halt any issuing of whaling permits until the program has been revamped.
The decision is a major victory for Australia and environmental groups that oppose whaling on ethical grounds, though it will not mean the end of whaling.
Japan has a second, smaller program in the northern Pacific. Meanwhile Norway and Iceland reject a 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling imposed by the International Whaling Commission and conduct for-profit whaling.
Nevertheless, environmental groups rejoiced.
The ruling "certainly has implications ultimately for whaling by Iceland and Norway as well," said Patrick Ramage, director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare's whale program, outside the courtroom.
"I think it will increase pressure on those two countries to re-examine their own whaling practices and the various reasons and pretexts given for that whaling activity."
Japan had argued that Australia's suit was an attempt to force its cultural norms on Japan, equivalent to Hindus demanding an international ban on killing cows.
Though consumption of whale meat has declined in popularity in Japan in recent years, it is still considered a delicacy by some.
Japan has pledged to abide by the court's ruling.
Monday's ruling found that killing whales for scientific purposes would be justifiable under international law in the context of a better-designed study. Japan's program was supposed to determine whether commercial whaling of some species can resume without bringing them in danger of extinction.
The ruling noted among other factors that Japan had not considered a smaller program or non-lethal methods to study whale populations. In its defense, Japan cited only two peer-reviewed scientific papers relating to its program from 2005 to the present — a period during which it has harpooned 3,600 minke whales, a handful of fin whales, and no humpback whales at all.
 
Like that's going to stop them !!!!.....International community should board and confiscate their ships and imprison the crew....That'll get their attention !!!!!
 
However, the news is great. I wonder if there will be any way to enforce this, though.

To whatever degree there are people out to kill whales for sport, it is not enforceable. If commercial whalers can no longer sell the whale in Japanese ports, it will make a difference.
 
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Since I have been at this forty years now - it's a good ruling. And I do believe Japan will reduce it's Antarctic hunting campaign so as to not "lose face" with the world community.

That said - there is wiggle room in there to do something else on a smaller scale. The most important thing is to prove to the corporate big wigs that it no longer makes sense from a fiscal end to hunt whales. And BTW - it's not fiscally smart as the meat stockpile just continues to grow.

Let's hope that this is the beginning of the end for Japanese Antarctic whale hunting. Next - Norway, Iceland, Faeroe Island hunting etc.

X
 
Great news (although, of course, it isn't really news since I've known about it since the decision).

As for it being in the pub, there has been a tendency for some to paint all Japanese for this (and other issues). I have several Japanese friends who are as adamant about their country's whaling as I am. To condemn the entire country for the acts of a segment of its population is wrong.
 


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Merging threads. One started out in Basic, I moved it to Pub where it was not a good fit. I then merged it.
 
Great news (although, of course, it isn't really news since I've known about it since the decision).

As for it being in the pub, there has been a tendency for some to paint all Japanese for this (and other issues). I have several Japanese friends who are as adamant about their country's whaling as I am. To condemn the entire country for the acts of a segment of its population is wrong.

Well, Japan is the name of the nation

Okay, how about CANADA

Canada[edit]

Canadian whaling is carried out in small numbers by various Inuit groups around the country and is managed by Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Harvested meat is sold through shops and supermarkets in northern communities where whale meat is a component of the traditional diet,[9] but typically not in southern, more urban cities such as Vancouver, Toronto, or Montreal.

The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society says:
"Canada has pursued a policy of marine mammal management which appears to be more to do with political expediency rather than conservation.
 
The aboriginal hunts in Canada, or the high Arctic has occurred for a long, long time. Way before commercial whaling. While I personally don't like it - I understand that it is part of their subsistence form of life. The same goes for the US aboriginal hunts. The whaling industry in Japan is something else - using the guise of science to move meat and make good on capital put forward in terms of specialized hardware for turning whales into food, or other. Also, the corporate big wigs in the fishing industry do not like to be told what to do - by anyone and are quite willing to play politics with the ever-changing political landscape of Japan.

At the end of the day - Japan as a nation would lose face if they did not comply with the Hague's decision. This said - I don't see this as the final straw in Japanese commercial…ahem…"scientific" whaling.
 
Well, Japan is the name of the nation

Yes, Japan is the name of the nation but not all Japanese people agree with their country's whaling efforts. How would you like to be painted with the same brush as Obama just because you live in "America?"
 

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