122 Pregnant Whales Were Killed in Japan's Latest Hunt. Was This Illegal?
More than 120 pregnant female whales were among 333 killed during Japan's recent annual summer hunt off the coast of Antarctica, according to a new report.
The report, released by the International Whaling Commission this month, said 122 of the slaughtered minke whales were pregnant and 114 were considered immature.
The last hunting season in the Antarctic for Japan ran from Dec. 8 to Feb. 28.
Conservationists said the new report was further evidence that Japan was killing whales for commercial purposes under the guise of scientific research.
Whether the annual hunt is legal is unclear, as some federal and international laws are in conflict with one another.
Also at BBC and Smithsonian Magazine.
A Minke whale, after reaching maturity, ranges from 7-10 m in length and masses from 5-10 metric tons.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 01 2018, @01:47AM
Norway hunts whales. Even the USA hunts whales, though we limit it to Eskimos.
Unlike Norway, Japan signed some sort of treaty, but that treaty has exceptions. Japan can hunt as many whales as they like as long as they conduct scientific research. There is no treaty requirement to minimize the number hunted, and there is no treaty requirement to prevent eating the whales that are hunted.
The USA ought to do likewise. Whales are yummy. We, uh, need more research to study this. For example, we could study the demand curve for whale meat at the supermarket. We can then study the long-term nutritional effects of eating whales, and we can study the impact of whaling on the emotional state of anti-whaling protesters.