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http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25682140-38196,00.html?referrer=ema...
Pregnant whales in mass slaughter in the Antarctic
The Daily TelegraphJune 24, 2009 12:01am
ALMOST a third of the whales Japan harpooned in the Antarctic last summer were pregnant, it was claimed yesterday, The Daily Telegraph reports.
Conservation group Humane Society International (HSI) said Japan's own figures, revealed in secret documents discovered at the International Whaling Commission meeting being held this week, showed the "true, disgusting nature" of the country's whale hunting.
Japan's annual hunt, which it claims is a scientific study, took a horrific toll on female whales, the HSI said.
The HSI said data from Japan's 2008/2009 hunt showed of 679 whales it reported killing, 304 were female. The data showed 192 of the whales were pregnant. Four were lactating.
"The four lactating females would each have had a calf that would have starved to death," HSI Australia's director Michael Kennedy said.
Mr Kennedy said the Japanese data also contained "gruesome" details of how whale foetuses were treated after being torn from their mothers on board the whaling fleet's factory ship.
"They report they measure the length and weight of the foetus, they measure their eyes and take skin samples from the foetus for what they call genetic studies," Mr Kennedy said.
"It is gruesome, useless information which, if it was even needed, could be found without dismembering a foetus."
The details of Japan's impact on female whales was contained in what is known as a "Cruise Report", secretly sent to the IWC's scientific committee before the IWC meeting in Portugal.
During the 2007-2008 hunt Australia was shocked when The Daily Telegraph published photos of a minke whale and her calf being hauled aboard a Japanese factory ship to be dismembered.
HSI vice president Kitty Block said Japan's whale hunt should be condemned and was conducted in a whale sanctuary under the guise of science.
"The fact is this hunt is commercial and killing pregnant females makes it all the more egregious," Ms Block said.
Australian Environment Minister Peter Garrett, who is at the IWC meeting, said Japan had killed more than 13,000 whales in the name of research since a moratorium on commercial whaling was imposed in 1986.
One of Mr Garrett's tactics to try to end Japanese whaling is to bring it under the direct control of the IWC, something Japan has been vigorously opposing.
Japan is also pushing hard for a "coastal whaling quota" - which would allow it to kill whales in its own waters without the pretence of scientific study - which conservation groups said was a return to commercial whaling.
This week the Australian Government announced what it called the largest study of Antarctic whales.
The joint Australian-New Zealand scientific expedition will steam to Antarctica this summer. No whales will be killed during the research.
Dress for Less
That's so sad.
1This is awful!
Makes me so sad!
2That's horrible!
3This makes me sick. What do they use the Whale for? Also, how did the Native American Tribe being allowed to hunt a whale affect Japans Whaling?
Absolute power, corrupts absolutely.
4this is tragic.
5This makes me so angry and sad. It's sickening, disgusting and vile. Poor whales and their babies.
6Why has no one asked them since it for "scientific research" if they are so smart what do they need to keep doing the research for - whales aren't evolving or changing and what they are doing is basically culling. Besides its not that well liked in Japan. I have read articles where they are forcing it on students. This is just BS to keep their whalers employed at a great expense to the environment. Aboriginal tribes hunt the old fashion way and eat them. They get 1 or 2 vs. over 100? And i don't see aboriginal americans going after calfs or letting them starve y killing their mommies.
7***************
"I will marshal all the forces of darkness to hound you to an assisted suicide." - In the Loop
this is really outrageous! wow -
what right do they have to do such a thing?
8The only research they do on those whales, is research on how much the can charge for the sushi, and how long before they sell that last piece.
9Why do people behave the way they do? So disrespectful to life.
10This is awful. I hate to know that people do such careless things.
11This is total disregard for life. It literally is the center of the circle of life. Can we afford to allow this type of meaningless death and destruction continue? If we let this go, what will they do next?
TELL OUR PRESIDENT--HE NEEDS TO LISTEN
12http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
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