For centuries the Japanese have fought for their right to hunt whales the largest mammals on planet on earth. Conservation groups and regulatory agencies such as the International Whaling Commission, have proven to be a formidable opposition to the Japanese practice of whaling, but now despite warnings from the International Whaling Commission Japan plans to resume killing the marine mammals.
Reasons Japan is hunting whales
In most parts of the world Whaling is an extinct practice. This is due almost entirely to the fact that whaling became heavily regulated in the mid nineteen eighties, but not long after the practice of whaling became illegal Japan was granted special permission to hunt whales based on the prevision that they were hunting the mammals for scientific research.
However the International Whaling Commission has now stated that the Japanese have failed to prove the merit in hunting whales for scientific research, and warn of the consequences should they continue to hunt. In May the IWC released documentation showing that the whale that appeared in the Japanese market for whale, could not have been killed before the killing of whale for reasons other than science became illegal, and therefore was participating in the illegal interference of whale species.
Japan’s failure to cease hunting whales may be rooted in culture
For thousands of years the Japanese have hunted whales for hundreds of reasons. It’s a practice that is entwined in their history, and the origins of their culture. Modern Japanese Whaling Associations still have a way of thinking regarding the whales that contradicts what the IWC has set forth. In a message on the Japanese Whaling Association’s website, they justify the killing of whales in the protected Antarctic sanctuary that the IWC has sought to protect, “It is important to understand that the Southern Ocean Sanctuary applies only to commercial whaling. It does not apply to research. Japan’s research catch of whales in the Antarctic is perfectly legal under Article VIII of the Convention which provides that any contracting Government may issue a special permit authorizing the take of whales for scientific purposes.”
Until this point the Japanese have been able to comfortably hunt whales under the guise that they were doing research, but now the International Whaling Commission is demanding answers in regards to what research has been done before any more whale hunting can continue.
