This article was first published in The Big Smoke on December 10, 2015.
Japan is at it again. After a short hiatus, they’ve announced the recommencement of their whaling for scientific purposes. Greg Hunt, our Environment Minister, has strongly condemned the announcement:
We do not accept in any way, shape or form the concept of killing whales for so-called ‘scientific research.’
I wonder why Japan insists on killing whales, despite a lack of a rational reason to keep at it.
The “scientific research” is a total fib. It is not just Greg Hunt and Greenpeace who say so. Last year, the International Court of Justice ruled that that Japan’s scientific whaling program is a way to carry out commercial whaling and is not intended for research. In fact, it was out of sheer embarrassment at the ruling that Japan cancelled its annual whale hunt last year.
One may argue that Japan wants to whale for commercial reasons. But this doesn’t hold true on inspection. The whale meat is obviously not for export, unless countries around the world are secretly organising raucous “minke whale meat” orgies behind our backs.
Read more on The Big Smoke.
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