Now that’s what we’re talking about!!!
The International Court of Justice in the Netherlands have ruled that Japan’s whaling program is NOT scientific, as claimed, and could be defined as commercial whaling.
Japan, in the past, used this scientific angle to explain its hunting and killing of minke, fin, and humpback whales.
Back in 1986 a provision in the ban of commercial whaling said that whales could be killed for scientific purposes which Japan has long exploited, but this ends all of that.
Here’s what the chief cabinet secretary of Japan said in a statement:
“Japan is disappointed and regrets that the Court ruled [this]. However, Japan will abide by the Judgment of the Court as a State that places a great importance on the international legal order and the rule of law as a basis of the international community.”
The statement goes on to say that Japan “will consider our concrete future course of actions carefully” which hopefully isn’t another way of saying they will try to find some loopholes to this judgement!
Here’s what Leigh Henry from the World Wildlife Fund said:
“It’s a huge victory. We’ve been fighting this battle for over three decades with little results.”
Unfortunately this ruling does not affect Japan’s roundup and controversial stance on dolphins, and also Japan could maybe follow Iceland’s reaction to the ban on commercial whaling back in 1986.
Iceland opted out of the IWC’s ruling, and continues to hunt whales to this day!
Hopefully Japan won’t follow suit, will STOP killing an estimated “1,415 great whales from six species each year”, and the whales near Japan will finally be able to swim without fear!
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