Japanese whaling boats are being accused of illegally hunting within Australia鈥檚 whale sanctuary.
The conservation group, Humane Society International (HIS), filed an application at the Australian Federal Court on Tuesday seeking a restraining order against the company involved.
Every year, boats operated by Kyodo Senpaku Kaisha kill about 440 minke whales in the Southern Ocean as part of Japan鈥檚 scientific whaling programme.
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Although commercial whaling is banned, whaling for scientific purposes is permitted by the International Whaling Commission (IWC). But about 428 minke whales have been taken illegally under a law passed by Australia in 2000, alleges Nicola Beynon of HIS. This legislation banned the harassment or harm of whales within all Australia鈥檚 territorial waters, including waters that it claims in Antarctica.
鈥淲e want the so-called scientific hunt to be restrained, under the act that established this whale sanctuary,鈥� says Beynon. 鈥淎nd we hope that the Australian government will then start enforcing the ban on killing whales within the sanctuary.鈥�
Ian Campbell, federal minister for the environment, told 快猫短视频: 鈥淲e鈥檝e got the same policy objectives as the Humane Society on this issue: the Australian government wants to end whaling. We are doing what we think is the most effective way to do that, through a number of international fora including the IWC.鈥�
International picture
Each year, Japan provides detailed information about its scientific whaling hunt to the IWC. This includes maps showing exactly where the whales were killed. It is straightforward to compare those coordinates with the boundaries of Australia鈥檚 whale sanctuary, says Beynon.
Although the number of whales taken annually from within the sanctuary varies, the average for the past four years has been about a quarter of the total Antarctic tally, she says.
However, while whale-hunting within the sanctuary is illegal under national law, the international picture is more complex.
Under the Antarctic treaty system, all national claims to Antarctica have been put aside. Some Antarctic islands, along with waters within 200 nautical miles of these territories, are internationally recognised as belonging to Australia. The minke whales are hunted within the region declared as Australia鈥檚 whale sanctuary, but outside these internationally-recognised areas.
鈥淪o, while whales are being killed within the whale sanctuary, no foreign country would recognise Australian legal jurisdiction over the waters,鈥� points out Ray Nias, director of conservation at WWF Australia.
HIS expects to hear in November whether its case can proceed. The Japan Whaling Association was unavailable for comment.