Where the Whale Things Are

1. Does Japan have a cultural right to whale?

The industrial-scale whaling that the Japanese Government currently undertakes every year in the pristine waters of the Antarctic cannot be regarded as anything close to traditional whaling.

There are claims that Japan once had a traditional coastal whaling culture but this is not what the Japanese Government is claiming it has a right to—it wants to undertake large-scale industrial whaling of populations in international waters.

Under the International Whaling Commission rules there are provisions for Aboriginal or subsidence whaling to occur—Japan cannot argue that the current whaling fits under this definition.

2. Are endangered species targeted by Japanese whalers?

Yes. The Japanese whalers target around 50 endangered whales each year. The program also formally includes endangered humpback whales, although these whales have not been targeted yet due to international outrage in 2005 when they were first listed under the program.

3. Japan states that it is hunting whales for scientific purposes, which is allowed under the International Whaling Commission’s guidelines. Is Japan’s scientific whaling really ‘scientific’?

Whale scientists all over the world study whales without killing or injuring them. Meanwhile, the Japanese whaling 'researchers' insist on using lethal methods not because they are necessary but because they supply whale meat to the markets in Japan and offer an opportunity to train new crew, thus keeping the whaling industry alive.

In 2006 an expert workshop of scientists from the International Whaling Commission, meeting in Tokyo, agreed (including the Japanese scientists) that the natural mortality rate for a stock of minke whales was not determined.

In other words, 18 years of lethal 'research' had been unable to exclude the possibility that minke whales might be immortal!

Although lots of data were collected by the Japanese scientists, as part of their attempt to try and understand the role of whales in the Antarctic marine ecosystem, the report of the IWC workshop noted that "relatively little progress has been made in addressing this objective".

4. Do you think whales should be treated as sentient beings to be protected at all costs or treated as sea creatures that can be hunted sustainably?

During the end of the 19th Century and the first half of the 20th Century many whale species were hunted to the very edge of extinction. Many have still not recovered. The blue whales of the Antarctic are at less than 1 percent of their original abundance, despite 40 years of complete protection.

Whaling is no longer the only threat to whales. The oceans, or rather, human impacts on the oceans, have changed dramatically over the half-century since whales have been protected. Known environmental threats to whales include global warming, pollution, overfishing, ozone depletion, noise such as sonar weaponry, and ship strikes. Industrial fishing threatens the food supply of whales and also puts whales at risk of entanglement in fishing gear.

Expectations for the recovery of whale populations have been based on the assumption that, except for commercial whaling, their place in the oceans is as secure as it was a hundred years ago. Sadly, this assumption is no longer valid. This is why we believe that commercial whaling in all forms must be stopped.

5. Do you think environmental activists should take action in their own hands?

Running a successful environmental campaign requires the right tactics to bring about change or stop environmental destruction. This can sometimes include non-violent direct action. Non-violent direct action (NVDA) is an option when lobbying or negotiations with decision makers fails.

Greenpeace uses NVDA as a means of peaceful protest to expose global environmental problems and force solutions that ensure a green and peaceful future.

6. The Australian government recently threatened to take Japan to the International Court of Justice. How will this rift between the two governments affect our international relations?

Australia and Japan have a strong relationship based upon relatively close proximity, shared interests and neighbours in the pacific and strong economic ties. For many years this relationship has been tested by ongoing Japanese whaling in international waters close to Australia.

There is no doubt that the Australian Government's threat that international legal action against Japan has not been received well in Japan but there is also the real problem that Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has been talking about this legal action for so long without delivering. There are real questions to be asked as to whether the Government is serious in this threat and failing to do so really undermines other efforts to stop Japanese whaling.

7. The slaughter of kangaroos and animals suffering in factory farms occur in our backyard. Do you think the Australian Government is hypocritical in its actions?

Japan continues to ignore the international ban on commercial whaling despite international condemnation and targets endangered species in its hunts. The Australian Government has been a strident proponent of whale conservation. The Australian Government should certainly be investigating all allegations of animal cruelty in its own backyard but this should not stop it from advocating for whales protection at the international level.