31 January
2008 - International — The Japanese whaling
fleet has again defied world opinion and
resumed whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale
Sanctuary.
The Australian Customs
vessel, the Oceanic Viking, reports that
the Fisheries Agency of Japan’s whaling
fleet has killed at least five whales in
the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.
The sanctuary had remained
fatality free for the whales for two weeks
due to the Esperanza chasing the factory
whaling ship, the Nissin Maru, across the
Southern Ocean for 8,000 km (5,000 miles).
Without the factory
ship, the rest of the whaling fleet were
unable to operate - bringing the entire
whaling programme to a halt. During the
two weeks Greenpeace spent with the fleet
more than 100 whales were saved.
After the Esperanza
gave chase across the Southern Ocean, media
coverage and public discussion on the whaling
issue is now reaching unprecedented levels
in Japan, where Prime Minister Fukuda has
been forced to discuss the whaling issue
in Parliament.
Once more, Japanese
taxpayers must be wondering why they are
funding this fake research operation which
produces no real science, whale meat that
no one wants to eat, and brings their country
into international disrepute.
The campaign to end
whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary
is now moving from the open ocean to Japan
where we are calling on Canon – a company
known for its support of conservation issues,
to publicly speak out against whaling.
Already over 44,000
concerned camera owners from around the
world have responded to our call to email
Fujio Mitarai, the CEO of Canon Japan. Fujio
Mitarai is also the head of the influential
Nippon Keidanren (Japanese Business Federation).
