Japan blijft vasthouden aan opheffen verbod op commerciële walvisvangst

Japan vows to continue push for commercial whaling

03-02-2010 Mari Yamaguchi, The Associated Press, The Star Toronto, Canada


TOKYO-Japan’s fisheries minister vowed to continue to push for a resumption of commercial whaling and defended research whaling Tuesday ahead of talks in Florida on the contentious hunt that kills as many as 3,000 animals each year.

Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Hirotaka Akamatsu told reporters in Tokyo he ordered Japanese delegates to “push tenaciously” to secure the right to hunt whales for purely commercial purposes. Such hunts were banned under a 1986 moratorium by the International Whaling Commission.

But Japan continues to hunt hundreds of mostly minke whales — which are not an endangered species — each year under a research program, an allowed exception to the ban. Excess meat is sold for consumption, leading critics to call the program a mere cover for commercial whaling.

“Realistically, we do want to resume commercial whaling,” he said.

Akamatsu also defended as legitimate so-called research hunts by Japan, Norway and Finland that kill up to 3,000 animals annually.

“In principle, research whaling is permitted by treaty. There is nothing wrong with it nor should we feel guilty about it, and by right we hope to continue the program,” Akamatsu said.

The research program has triggered protests by conservationists in the Antarctic every year, as well as diplomatic tensions. Sea Shepherd, a U.S.-based conservation group, often trails the whaling boats and tries to disrupt the hunt, leading to violent confrontations.

A latest IWC proposal calls for a lifting of the 1986 ban on whaling while restricting scientific whaling — a change intended to cut the overall number of whales killed worldwide. The annual whale hunt has surged 10 times from 300 in 1993.

Anti-whaling countries and conservation groups have opposed the plan. The proposal will be discussed at the IWC working group meeting in Florida from Tuesday-Thursday.

Australia, a staunch anti-whaling nation, has long threatened international legal action to stop the research hunts. It has now given Japan until November to end its Antarctic whaling or face action at the International Court of Justice.

(Bron: http://www.thestar.com/)
(Bron foto: http://www.zimbio.com/Hirotaka+Akamatsu/pictures/pro)