How Many More Whales Must Japan Kill to Find Out What They Already Know They Eat?
On January 23, the Australia newspaper the Daily Telegraph ran an article under the heading “Japan’s Lies to Justify Whaling.” The Japanese government and whaling industry have been claiming that their whaling in the Antarctic and in the North Pacific is necessary for the pursuit of scientific research on whale populations and behavior. It is an argument that few outside of Japan given any credence to, especially the scientific community. Whale expert Nick Gales, from the Australian Antarctic Division in Hobart, said the information Japan is collecting from whales they kill is useless. “We don’t need that type of science data to manage whale stocks,” Dr Gales said. Institute of Cetacean Research in Tokyo councilor Dan Goodman claims Australia, New Zealand, and other anti-whaling nations should “strongly support” Japan’s commitment to scientific research. Japan announced at last year’s meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) that this summer it would double its slaughter o
