The Japanese government has confirmed a rumour first reported at the Greenpeace weblog, that they've abandoned plans to kill humpback whales in the Southern Ocean this season.
The fact that no humpback whales will be hunted down and killed in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary this year is good news indeed, and a victory for Greenpeace supporters the world over who have joined with us in demanding action from their governments, participated in promoting non-lethal alternatives to whale research through our Great Whale Trail, and questioned the Japanese government directly about plans to expand the whale hunt through the building of a new whaling ship. (Oh, and all of you who told your friends to vote for Mister Splashy Pants in our whale-naming competition, you did your part too.)
Unfortunately though, this is just one species for one year. The Japanese government is still planning to kill nearly a thousand whales on this year's hunt, including 50 endangered fin whales. That not a single harpoon will breach the Whale Sanctuary at all is the news that the world is waiting for.
Our ship Esperanza is currently on the trail of the Japanese whaling fleet - check out the weblog for the latest updates.
Whaling has not ended. Japan still plans to kill over a thousand fin and minke whales this year. Saving one species is not enough. We all need to do more NOW to stop the hunt forever.
Now is the time to press for an end to whaling forever
The future of whaling could well depend upon whether a new factory ship gets built or not. We believe the Japanese taxpayer has a right to ask whether billions of Yen should be invested in this industry - espectially given that it generates no useful science, adds to a mountain of unsold whalemeat, poses a diplomatic liability to Japan, and in the end profits only a very few bureuatcrats.
For nations that support whale conservation, now is the time to press Japan to abandon the whale hunt entirely, and to stop the build of a new Nisshin Maru.
