Greenpeace cites Japan's whaling industry as saying it would cut back on its slaughter of whales by 20 percent this season.
The largest ship in Japan’s whaling fleet embarked on another season of “research” whaling as the Australian government announced that new scientific techniques make it unnecessary to kill the whales in order to study them.
Japan is able to circumvent a ban on commercial whaling in place since 1986 by saying its operations are needed to study the marine mammals’ migratory and reproductive habits.
But Australian Environment Minister Peter Garrett says his country’s new $4 million whale research program makes slaughtering whales completely unnecessary.
“Modern-day research uses genetic and molecular techniques as well as satellite tags, acoustic methods and aerial surveys rather than grenade-tipped harpoons,” Garrett said.
Japan’s fleet plans to kill 935 minke whales and 50 fin whales during its Antarctic hunt.
But, international pressure has forced it to cancel plans to kill endangered humpback whales for a second consecutive year.
Photo: Greenpeace