Whaling Ban!

Finally Japans 'experimental' whale hunting has  been banned!! After nearly 4 years since the case was first brought to light, the International Court of Justice ruled that the Japanese government must halt the whaling programme that they claim is for research in the Antarctic.

The ruling is binding and the Japanese are apparently feeling like Australia are trying to impose their cultural normality on the country and still argue that they have done nothing wrong.
In 1986 Japan signed up to the moratorium on whaling but continued  to whale in both the north and south Pacific claiming that they were undergoing scientific research. The whales being hunted are found in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, a 50 million square km area round the Antarctic which is against commercial whaling but does allow scientific research. The scientific output from the whaling in Japan has been minimal though, and many people feel like the government has been using the idea of research for illegal hunting. This became even clearer to some, as the slaughtered whales meat has been found to be commercially sold in Japan.

This ban is great news for whale conservation and will mean that species such as the Minke whales will be able to continue to grow in numbers and thrive in the ocean, but it doesn't ban whaling in North Pacific, so the Japanese can still sadly use the same loophole. If they are also able to find a better research proposal they maybe allowed back into the Southern Oceans eventually, but for now, and the near future, at least ocean giants are safer than they have been in a long time.

To read more ...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-26818863
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/mar/31/does-japans-research-whaling-help-conserve-whales