In 2014 the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Japan’s Southern Ocean whaling was illegal. Now, only a year later, the Government of Japan has announced a new plan to resume killing whales. This is a direct violation of the ruling, which stated that the country could not continue whaling until it could prove it was for scientific purposes.The new plan for whaling in the Southern Ocean would kill almost 4,000 minke whales over 12 years. They claim that the population of the minke whale is large enough to sustain hunting and killing them, and that eating whale is a part of their culture.
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The National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration fear the population of minke whales may be smaller than current estimates owing to surges in modern whaling from countries such as Japan, and that the reason for the population being currently stable is due to the hunting of other whale populations, which has created less competition for food sources.
The Japanese Fisheries Agency confirmed its plan to commence whaling season in letters sent to the International Whaling Commission this week.
The President of the United States has power to apply sanctions against Japan for the continued hunting of whales under the Pelly Amendment and the Packwood-Magnuson Amendment but as of now has taken no action to prevent the needless slaughter.
Help us tell President Obama to take real action to prevent Japan from resuming the killing of whales. Sign the petition today.
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