Japan Hunts Humpbacks
Under the pretense of scientific research, a fleet of Japanese whaling ships is hunting the humpback whale for the first time in decades. The whaling mission plans on killing roughly 1,000 animals in all, including 50 or so humpbacks. While Japanese officials claim the purpose of the mission is to study whale organs, the meat from the animals will be sold commercially.
Under the pretense of scientific research, a fleet of Japanese whaling ships is hunting the humpback whale for the first time in decades. The whaling mission plans on killing roughly 1,000 animals in all, including 50 or so humpbacks. While Japanese officials claim the purpose of the mission is to study whale organs, the meat from the animals will be sold commercially.
Japan has lobbied unsuccessfully for years to reverse a moratorium on commercial whaling, and its so-called scientific missions are widely viewed by environmentalists as an attempt to circumnavigate the world community’s general distaste for whaling.
Your support matters…BBC:
The humpback hunt is the first since a mid-1960s global ban and has drawn strong protests from environmentalists.
Commercial whaling was stopped in 1986 but Japan is permitted whaling in the name of scientific research.
Four whaling ships, including the lead craft Nisshin Maru, set off from the southern port of Shimonoseki on Sunday.
The 239-man mission plans to kill more than 900 minke whales as well as fin whales and humpbacks, in a South Pacific whale hunt that will run until mid-April.
Independent journalism is under threat and overshadowed by heavily funded mainstream media.
You can help level the playing field. Become a member.
Your tax-deductible contribution keeps us digging beneath the headlines to give you thought-provoking, investigative reporting and analysis that unearths what's really happening- without compromise.
Give today to support our courageous, independent journalists.
Women
Celebrating victories and decrying injustices, the march was a rallying cry for Indigenous rights.
TD Original
Native Americans take a stand against “green” extractivism in the Nevada desert.
Environment
However far they run, they cannot escape the coming heat.
Europe
One side of the uprising is about the habitability of Earth, the other is about the habitability of France for communities of color.
Environment
When companies want to add new cell phone towers, build on protected land or launch satellites, the agency typically does nothing.
Ear to the Ground
An historic summit on the global water crisis was overdue, but it was just a start.
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.