Japan now wants to hunt humpback whales

One would have hoped that Japan, a supposedly enlightened nation, would not wish to be involved in the hunting of whales. The Japanese claim that their hunting of minke whales is for scientific purposes. Now, however, the Japanese want to see commercial whaling around the world. That would include the hunting and killing of humpback whales.

Guardian Unlimited reports on what the UK is doing about this prospectively alarming situation:

"An unlikely grouping of the British government, naturalist Sir David Attenborough and Lord Ashcroft, the former Conservative Party treasurer, has emerged to try to stop Japan and its allies from overturning the international ban on whaling.

British ministers have signed up Croatia, Slovenia, Cyprus and Greece to join an anti-whaling coalition at the International Whaling Commission's annual conference, which begins today in Anchorage, Alaska. Two more anti-whaling nations, Costa Rica and Peru, have also been persuaded by Britain to pay their membership dues to allow them to vote".

The ABC reports on its AM radio program on the same issue here.

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