Environmental activist group Sea Shepherd warned Japan against resuming “research” whaling in the Antarctic and called on the Australian Government to intervene.
After a decade of harassment by Sea Shepherd and other groups, Japan was forced to abandon its 2014-15 Southern Ocean hunt after the International Court of Justice said the annual expedition was a commercial activity masquerading as research. But on Saturday, Japanese media reported it would start again next year, despite a call by global regulators for more evidence that the expeditions have a scientific purpose. “The pristine waters of the Southern Ocean are once again under threat from poachers,” said Sea Shepherd chief executive Alex Cornelissen.
“We would like to remind the Japanese government that the whales of the Southern Ocean are protected by international law, by Australian law, and by Sea Shepherd.”As such, any violation of the sanctity of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary or the Australian Whale Sanctuary will be regarded as a criminal act,” AFP quoted Cornelissen as saying.