14 DAY TRIAL // Reports issued by Japan's Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry say that the country's whalers only succeeded in killing a total of 103 Antarctic minke whales throughout the entire duration of this year's whaling season.
Since the quota set for the Japanese whalers was one of 1,000 whales, saying that these hunters failed in meeting demands and being as efficient as was expected of them is a bit of an understatement.
According to Mongabay, the Japanese whalers have green-oriented group Sea Shepherd to “thank” for their only killing 103 Antarctic minke whales.
Thus, these greenheads spent a total of three weeks harassing the Japanese fleet and keeping it from slaughtering any marine mammals.
Footage released by Sea Shepherd towards the end of February shows that their encounters with the Japanese whalers were anything but smooth. However, the conservationists held their ground.
Interestingly enough, their going to extreme lengths in order to protect the marine mammals targeted by the Japanese whalers was labeled as an embodiment of piracy by a judge in the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
“That the perpetrators believe themselves to be serving the public good does not render their ends public.”
“The activities that Cetacean alleges Sea Shepherd has engaged in are clear instances of violent acts for private ends, the very embodiment of piracy,” Chief Judge Alex Kozinski argued shortly after Sea Shepherd first engaged the Japanese whalers.
Still, many agree that, as Japan's record low number of whales slaughtered during one 48-day hunting season proves, the organization is in fact performing a public service by protecting both marine ecosystems and aquatic wildlife.
For those unaware, Japan claims that its killing whales need be linked to scientific purposes alone.
However, Sea Shepherd and its supporters maintain that, since the meat is eventually sold in Japanese markets, the slaughter of these animals is very much a commercial activity.