14 DAY TRIAL // A short while back, the Japanese Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR) filed for an injunction against the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) in the United States, on the grounds that it interfered with their activities in the Southern Ocean.
What they basically wanted to do was stop the Sea Shepherd fleet from pursuing the Japanese whaling vessels currently deployed in the Southern Ocean. The activist group has been successful in putting massive dents in the numbers of whales the Japanese wanted to hunt over the past few years.
Each time the whalers travel from Japan to the shores of Australia and Antarctica, two or more Sea Shepherd vessels track them down and chase them away, preventing them from killing whales.
Under an international moratorium adopted by the United Nations in 1986, commercial whaling is forbidden around the world. The year after the agreement was signed, the ICR was born, with the stated purpose of conducting so-called scientific research.
However, in the intervening years, only a handful of research papers have been released by ICR-affiliated scientists, even though the organization sets a yearly quota of about 1,000 whales for its vessels to bring back.
Sea Shepherd learned of the deception, and took it upon itself to uphold international law by stopping the whaling fleet from hunting in southern waters. What's more, the ICR also sends its vessels in the Australian Marine Sanctuary.
Seattle District Court Judge Richard A. Jones heard the ICR complaints, represented by Portland-based law firm Miller and Nash, and then the defensive arguments prepared by the SSCS and experts from law firm Harris and Moure.
Judge Jones decided to deny the preliminary injunction request, stating that there was no evidence to support the Japanese claims that the SSCS vessels or personnel operated in the freezing Antarctic waters with the purpose of causing harm or damage to the whalers.
The official also made it abundantly clear that, were the ICR to decide pursuing this matter during a full-blown trial, the legality of the Japanese actions would become a central issue. In addition, the ICR will be asked to explain why it is in violation of an injunction placed on it by an Australian court.
The document specifically forbids the Japanese from entering the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, yet the SSCS tracked them down as they were killing whales within the boundaries of the protected zone on several occasions.
Sea Shepherd has filed a motion to have the entire sham lawsuit dismissed. Pressure is mounting on the ICR and the Japanese government. The latter has recently revealed to have used aid money meant for disaster relief to finance this year's whaling campaign, Planet Save reports.
In addition, documents released by WikiLeaks have revealed secret talks between US and Japanese officials, in which the latter encouraged the former to find some way of stopping the SSCS.