NEWS RELEASE
NEW JAPANESE PM URGED TO RECALL WHALING FLEET
(Sydney, November 19, 2009) – The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) is urging
Japan’s new government to recall its whaling fleet which is heading to Antarctica to cruelly hunt
almost 1,000 whales.
In defiance of global pressure and several international laws, the government of Japan’s whaling fleet
has left harbour and is now en route to the pristine Southern Ocean Sanctuary to harpoon up to 935
minke whales and 50 endangered fin whales.
Despite a worldwide ban on commercial whaling, Japan hunts whales in Antarctica under the
loophole of “scientific whaling”. However, very little research is produced and with expanding hunt
quotas and whale meat on sale in supermarkets and restaurants, this is clearly commercial whaling by
another name.
“Prime Minister Hatoyama came to power promising a sea change in Japan’s domestic and
international policies. But with whaling, it’s the same old story - government bureaucrats pushing
sham science while turning the sea red,” said Patrick Ramage, Director, IFAW global whale program
director. “We urge the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Okada to recall the Japanese whaling
fleet and chart a new course for 21st Century whale conservation.”
The future of whaling is among issues due to be discussed at a closed-door meeting of the
International Whaling Commission (IWC) in Seattle, Washington, USA next month. Japan has
previously announced it would suspend plans to harpoon 50 humpback whales while talks continue,
but it is not suspending the rest of its so-called “scientific” whaling programme.
“The Australian Government is still considering legal action to bring an end to so-called ‘scientific
whaling’ – we wonder how many whales will die before that action is taken,” said Erica Martin,
IFAW Asia Pacific Director.
Japan’s whalers have killed 9,394 whales in the Southern Ocean since 1987 when they first used the
cover of “scientific research” to get around the international whaling ban.
Ends
For further information please contact Patrick Ramage at IFAW on mobile +1 508 7760027,
telephone +1 508 7442071 or email pramage@ifaw.org
Or Erica Martin, Director IFAW Asia Pacific 0408 881 607 or email emartin@ifaw.org
NEWS RELEASE
Notes to Editors:
Legal analyses by international panels of independent legal experts convened in Paris, London,
Sydney and Canberra have found Japan’s expanding whaling to be in violation of a number of
international Laws and Treaties. These include IWC regulations, the Antarctic Treaty System and the
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
A group of six IWC countries including Japan will meet behind closed doors in Seattle from
December 4 to continue negotiations on the future of whaling. IFAW is concerned that such closed-
door negotiations could lead to the lifting of the ban on commercial whaling in some form.
The ban on commercial whaling needs to be strengthened, not weakened, as whales around the
world face more threats than ever before from whaling, ship strikes, entanglements, pollution and
man-made ocean noise.
An IFAW report released earlier this year showed that the total economic value of the whale
About the International Fund for Animal Welfare - As one of the world’s leading animal welfare
organisations, IFAW has representation in 16 countries and carries out its animal welfare work in
more than 40. IFAW focuses its campaigns on improving the welfare of wild and domestic animals
by reducing the commercial exploitation of animals, protecting wildlife habitats and assisting animals
in distress. IFAW works both on the ground and in the halls of government to safeguard wild and
domestic animals and seeks to motivate the public to prevent cruelty to animals and to promote
animal welfare and conservation policies that advance the well-being of both animals and people.
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