Japan has announced plans to kill 333 minke whales as part of a new ‘scientific’ whaling programme in the Antarctic.
The news comes just eight months after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled its whaling activities in the Southern Ocean was illegal and must stop.
The Japanese government has revealed details of a new proposal, called NEWREP-A, which targets just one species of whale, the Minke Whale.
Although Japan initially vowed to respect the ruling of the ICJ, it soon pledged to pursue a new programme for scientific whaling in the Southern Ocean.
“This proposal is an audacious step in the wrong direction and actually increases whaling the ICJ ruled illegal, said Patrick Ramage, Global Whale Programme Director for International Fund for Animal Welfare.
“The World Court judgment said Japan cannot go it alone and decide itself what represents legitimate ‘scientific’ whaling. This plan should be dead on arrival when it arrives at the IWC Scientific Committee next year.
“We are carefully reviewing this 100-page document, but it's immediately clear this plan will mean more blood in the water, an expanded Antarctic killing zone, and a sharp increase over the actual number of whales taken in recent years. It is time for Japan to finally end its outdated, cruel and unscientific killing of whales.”
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