Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005
RTEs Sarah McInerney ? Fianna Fail?supporter? Anthony
Joe Duffy is dishonest and untrustworthy Anthony
Robert Watt complaint: Time for decision by SIPO Anthony
RTE in breach of its own editorial principles Anthony
Waiting for SIPO Anthony Public Inquiry >>
Promoting Human Rights in IrelandHuman Rights in Ireland >>
US Companies Take Ofcom to Court Over ?Unlawful? Censorship Under Online Safety Act Wed Aug 27, 2025 20:30 | Laurie Wastell The transatlantic battle for free speech is heating up, says Laurie Wastell, as two US companies ? 4chan and Kiwi Farms ? take Ofcom to court over its "unlawful" censorship under the UK's notorious Online Safety Act.
The post US Companies Take Ofcom to Court Over “Unlawful” Censorship Under Online Safety Act appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Unemployed Young People ? Is Millennial Parenting to Blame? Wed Aug 27, 2025 19:00 | Guy de la B?doy?re The young adults of 'Generation Snowflake' are notorious for their inability to cope with life and employment. Could this have anything to do with the 'gentle parenting' they received, wonders Guy de la B?doy?re.
The post Unemployed Young People ? Is Millennial Parenting to Blame? appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Wind Farms Are Driving Up Electricity Bills, Admits Ofgem Wed Aug 27, 2025 17:36 | Will Jones Energy bills are rising to help fund the extra costs of wind farms, Ofgem admitted today as it announced gas and electricity costs will go up by double the expected amount from October.
The post Wind Farms Are Driving Up Electricity Bills, Admits Ofgem appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Calling Male Transgender Samurai Killer a Woman Was Accurate, Insists BBC Wed Aug 27, 2025 15:00 | Will Jones The BBC has defended its use of female pronouns to describe a male transgender killer who stabbed his partner to death with a samurai sword.
The post Calling Male Transgender Samurai Killer a Woman Was Accurate, Insists BBC appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Porsche Axes Plans to Build Electric Car Batteries as Demand Collapses Wed Aug 27, 2025 13:00 | Will Jones Porsche has scrapped plans to build its own electric vehicle batteries after collapsing demand from drivers.
The post Porsche Axes Plans to Build Electric Car Batteries as Demand Collapses appeared first on The Daily Sceptic. Lockdown Skeptics >>
Voltaire, international edition
Will intergovernmental institutions withstand the end of the "American Empire"?,... Sat Apr 05, 2025 07:15 | en
Voltaire, International Newsletter N?127 Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:38 | en
Disintegration of Western democracy begins in France Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:00 | en
Voltaire, International Newsletter N?126 Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:39 | en
The International Conference on Combating Anti-Semitism by Amichai Chikli and Na... Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:31 | en Voltaire Network >>
|
How Sea Shepherd lost battle against Japan’s whale hunters in Antarctic
international |
animal rights |
other press
Sunday December 24, 2017 22:39 by anon

The Guardian published an article yesterday on how the Japanese have evaded through military technology the Sea Shepherd patrols that previously prevented them whaling and that they are now killing whales inside the internationally recognized Southern Ocean whaling sanctuary, that surrounds Antarctica.
A fleet of Japanese ships is currently hunting minke whales in the Southern Ocean. It is a politically incendiary practice: the waters around Antarctica were long ago declared a whale sanctuary, but the designation has not halted Japan’s whalers, who are continuing a tradition of catching whales “for scientific research” in the region. In the past, conservation groups such as Sea Shepherd have mounted campaigns of harassment and successfully blocked Japan’s ships from killing whales. But not this year. Despite previous successes, Sea Shepherd says it can no longer frustrate Japan’s whalers because their boats now carry hardware supplied from military sources, making the fleet highly elusive and almost impossible to track. As a result the whalers are – for the first time – being given a free run to kill minke in the Southern Ocean.
“We have prevented thousands of whales from being killed in the past and we have helped ensure that the quota of minkes that Japan can take now is much lower than in the past,” said Peter Hammarstedt, a Sea Shepherd captain. “But they have put such resources into this year’s whaling that we cannot hope to find their fleet and stop them. It is simply a matter of us not wasting our own resources. We have other battles to fight.” Japan is not the only nation to hunt whales. Norway has a commercial operation in its own waters, for example. But what infuriates conservationists is that Japan is hunting and killing whales in a conservation zone, the Southern Ocean whaling sanctuary, that surrounds Antarctica. Japan claims that it does so only for scientific purposes.
“Essentially, they are exploiting a loophole in the rules – introduced in the 80s – that govern the banning of commercial whaling,” said Paul Watson, the founder of Sea Shepherd. Originally Japan set out to catch more than 900 minkes every year, as well as 50 humpbacks and 50 fin whales. However, its fleet was rarely able to reach these quotas because of actions by groups like Sea Shepherd. “We physically got in between the whalers and the whales and stopped the latter being killed,” said Hammarstedt. “One year we stopped Japan getting all but 10% of its quota. Their ships were nearly empty when they got back home.”
|