14 DAY TRIAL // News from Japan says that the country's whaling fleet is now traveling to the Southern Ocean. More precisely, it appears that, this past weekend, two whaling vessels and a surveillance ship set sail from the port of Shimonoseki, and are now looking to meet with one other ship, the Nisshin Maru, The Guardian reports.
The Japanese whalers plan to travel all the way to the Antarctic, and slaughter nearly 1,000 whales throughout the duration of this year's winter hunting season. More precisely, the ships plan to kill 935 minke whales and 50 fin whales, the same source details.
As explained on several occasions, Japan maintains that these whale hunts are not carried out for commercial purposes. On the contrary, the country claims that its whalers butcher these marine mammals for scientific research.
Conservationists working with green group Sea Shepherd have trouble believing these claims, and have argued many times that the country is merely taking advantage of a loophole in the legislation concerning the protection on whales swimming in the Antarctica to see to its own interests.
Thus, although hunting whales for commercial purposes was outlawed back in 1986 by the International Whaling Commission, current laws nonetheless allow restaurants to serve whale meat, provided that the meat comes from marine mammals slaughtered for scientific research.
Presently, Australia is trying to get the International Court of Justice to ban Japan from carrying out such hunts in the future.
Until the Court reaches a final decision, green group Sea Shepherd is getting ready to closely monitor the Japanese whaling fleet throughout the entire duration of this year's winter hunting season, and see to it that the ships do not come anywhere close their goal to kill nearly 1,000 marine mammals.
Sea Shepherd's fleet is expected to set sail for the Antarctica in about a week's time, The Guardian says.
Apart from trying to protect whales in this part of the world themselves, the conservationists are asking that Australia send a customs ship to keep a close eye on the Japanese whalers.
Apparently, Environment Minister Greg Hunt has promised to do so earlier this year, and the organization now expects Prime Minister Tony Abbot to make sure that the country stays true to its words.
“We need to hear from the Prime Minister [Tony Abbott] that that promise to the Australian people will be kept,” conservationist Bob Brown reportedly told the press.