Japan Kills 122 Pregnant Minke Whales During Whaling Expedition

Japan’s whale slaughter continues at its horrific worst as 333 minkes die in 4 months

Three dead minke whales lie on the deck of the Japanese whaling vessel Nisshin Maru.

(Photo: AP)

During their highly controversial annual whaling expedition that Tokyo defends as scientific research, Japan slaughtered 122 pregnant minke whales. The four-month expedition in the Antarctic ended in March after the fleet killed 333 minke whales, according to a report submitted by Japanese authorities to the International Whaling Commission last month.

What conservationists call as "gruesome and unnecessary", Japanese whale hunting vessels killed 333 whales, out of which 122 were pregnant and dozens immature.

Humane Society International, a conservationist group, called the figures "a shocking statistic and sad indictment on the cruelty of Japan's whale hunt."

It is further demonstration, if needed, of the truly gruesome and unnecessary nature of whaling operations, especially when non-lethal surveys have been shown to be sufficient for scientific needs

Alexia Wellbelove, senior program manager,HSI

Japan is a signatory to the International Whaling Commission, which has maintained a moratorium on hunting whales since 1986.

Japan traditionally has hunted whales for centuries, and their meat was a key source of protein in the immediate post-World War II years when the country was desperately poor.

In March 2014, the International Court of Justice ruled against Japan’s “research whaling”, saying that it served as a front to allow commercial hunting and selling of whales under a scientific exemption.

Tokyo cancelled the hunt the following year, but resumed it in 2016, cutting its whale hunting quota from 900 to 333 amid harsh international criticism.

But Tokyo exploits a loophole allowing whales to be killed for "scientific research" and claims it is trying to prove the population is large enough to sustain a return to commercial hunting.

It makes no secret of the fact that whale meat ends up on dinner tables under the ambit of “an ancient part of its culture”.