slim6y
Almost Legendary
News Article:
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,21812446-953,00.html
THERE are enough whales in the ocean for Australians to enjoy whale-watching and Japan to hunt them with explosive harpoons.
That's the argument Japan will take to an international meeting this morning which will ask nations to vote on whether or not to overturn a 21-year-old ban on commercial whaling.
In a detailed brief, Japan's whaling delegate Joji Mori****a argues that if it's good enough for Australians to farm cows for steak, then it's acceptable for Japan to butcher the gentle sea creatures for whale sushi.
"There are enough whales for those who want to watch them and for those who want to eat them," Mr Mori****a says in the nine-page brief.
"The situation is not different from a farm tour with a barbecue lunch."
Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull is in Anchorage, Alaska, with 70 environment ministers from around the world for the annual International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting which begins this morning (AEST).
Mr Turnbull and his counterparts from New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Brazil will lead a coalition of anti-whaling nations to stop Japan from winning the vote to overturn the ban on commercial whaling.
Japan needs a 75 per cent majority to overturn it, but The Daily Telegraph understands pro-whaling countries don't even have a simple majority.
This would deliver another huge blow to Japan, but won't stop it extending its scientific whale hunt which later this year will include humpbacks.
Mr Mori****a said Australia's whale sanctuary in the Antarctic had no legal standing in international law, "and therefore no effect".
He said Japan had to extend its whale hunt to include the threatened humpbacks and endangered fin whales because their populations were increasing rapidly.
This year Japan will slaughter 935 minke whales, 50 fin whales and 50 humpbacks.
"Sample sizes have been calculated as the minimum number required to obtain statistically significant data and will not have any detrimental effect on the stocks," Mr Mori****a said.
"This is similar to doing public opinion polls – you dont ask everyone in the entire population for their view but you need to ask more than one person."
Mr Mori****a rejected claims Japan's slaughter methods were inhumane.
"In fact, a large proportion of the whales taken are killed instantly by an explosive harpoon and for those cases when they are not, a secondary killing method (a second harpoon or high caliber rifle) ensures that the time to death is as rapid as possible," he said.
Conservation groups said this was a crucial week for whales.
"The best whale science in the 21st century involves studying live whales in their ocean habitats, not slaughtering them for cans of whale meat," head of the International Fund for Animal Welfare's global whale campaign, Patrick Ramage, said.
The IWC meeting will run all week.
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,21812446-953,00.html
THERE are enough whales in the ocean for Australians to enjoy whale-watching and Japan to hunt them with explosive harpoons.
That's the argument Japan will take to an international meeting this morning which will ask nations to vote on whether or not to overturn a 21-year-old ban on commercial whaling.
In a detailed brief, Japan's whaling delegate Joji Mori****a argues that if it's good enough for Australians to farm cows for steak, then it's acceptable for Japan to butcher the gentle sea creatures for whale sushi.
"There are enough whales for those who want to watch them and for those who want to eat them," Mr Mori****a says in the nine-page brief.
"The situation is not different from a farm tour with a barbecue lunch."
Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull is in Anchorage, Alaska, with 70 environment ministers from around the world for the annual International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting which begins this morning (AEST).
Mr Turnbull and his counterparts from New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Brazil will lead a coalition of anti-whaling nations to stop Japan from winning the vote to overturn the ban on commercial whaling.
Japan needs a 75 per cent majority to overturn it, but The Daily Telegraph understands pro-whaling countries don't even have a simple majority.
This would deliver another huge blow to Japan, but won't stop it extending its scientific whale hunt which later this year will include humpbacks.
Mr Mori****a said Australia's whale sanctuary in the Antarctic had no legal standing in international law, "and therefore no effect".
He said Japan had to extend its whale hunt to include the threatened humpbacks and endangered fin whales because their populations were increasing rapidly.
This year Japan will slaughter 935 minke whales, 50 fin whales and 50 humpbacks.
"Sample sizes have been calculated as the minimum number required to obtain statistically significant data and will not have any detrimental effect on the stocks," Mr Mori****a said.
"This is similar to doing public opinion polls – you dont ask everyone in the entire population for their view but you need to ask more than one person."
Mr Mori****a rejected claims Japan's slaughter methods were inhumane.
"In fact, a large proportion of the whales taken are killed instantly by an explosive harpoon and for those cases when they are not, a secondary killing method (a second harpoon or high caliber rifle) ensures that the time to death is as rapid as possible," he said.
Conservation groups said this was a crucial week for whales.
"The best whale science in the 21st century involves studying live whales in their ocean habitats, not slaughtering them for cans of whale meat," head of the International Fund for Animal Welfare's global whale campaign, Patrick Ramage, said.
The IWC meeting will run all week.
