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The
term whale can refer to all cetaceans, to just the
larger ones, or only to members of particular families
within the order Cetacea. The last definition is the
one followed here. Whales are those cetaceans which
are neither dolphins (i.e. members of the families
Delphinidae or Platanistoidae) nor porpoises. This
can lead to some confusion because Orcas (Killer Whales)
and Pilot whales have "whale" in their name,
but they are dolphins for the purpose of classification.
(Credit:
Wikipedia)
Articles
Weight
of public opinion forces hunt backdown By Lauren Williams
and David Barrett - 21st December 2007
(Credit:
The Daily Telegraph)
THE
voice of ordinary Australians, led by The Daily Telegraph's
Save the Whales campaign, forced Japan's humiliating
backdown on the slaughter of humpback whales.
More
than 61,000 people signed the Save the Whales petition
since it was launched just over two weeks ago - and
Japan last night admitted the widespread outrage had
been a factor in the country's decision.
"Australians
consider whales to be very affectionate, something
I can't really relate to. But apparently they give
names to every whale and there's quite strong public
sentiment," Japan's chief government spokesman
Nobutaka Machimura said.
Anti-whaling
campaigner Isabel Lucas last night described the announcement
as "wonderful news".
"I'm
confident that the pressure from citizens all over
the world has influenced their decision," Lucas
said last night.
"Finally
our humpbacks will be protected but we must, repeat
we must, continue our efforts to protect the other
species.
"The
Government will obviously support popular opinion
and this is an example of that popular support."
The
former Home and Away star decided to speak out after
being reduced to tears as she and fellow anti-whaling
campaigners Dave Rastovich and Hannah Fraser watched
helplessly as pilot whales were slaughtered in Japan
last month.
"We
couldn't save these whales, but hopefully shining
the light on their deaths will save others,"
she said.
Greenpeace
Australia Pacific CEO Steve Shallhorn last night paid
tribute to the strong opposition of the Australian
people to the Japanese whaling program, including
readers of The Daily Telegraph.
"This
is a direct result of the outpouring of support from
Australians such as those who signed The Daily Telegraph
petition," Mr Shallhorn said.
Mr
Shallhorn said many whale species were threatened
and more needed to be done to bring whaling to a complete
stop.
"I
think this is a significant climbdown for the Japanese
government," he told reporters in Sydney today.
"Their
intention has been to increase the number of whales
and the number of species (targeted by whalers)...
so this would not have been easy for them."
Mr
Shallhorn said a protest letter signed by 31 countries
that Australia passed to the Japanese government would
have influenced the decision.
He
said that although the Japanese government made the
announcement before the note was delivered, they would
have known it was coming.
"I
think that protest would have been felt in Tokyo and
would have been one of the reasons why the Japanese
government has offered a little bit of a compromise
here," he said.
"The
note is a significant escalation of world opposition
to Japanese whaling in the southern ocean.
"The
number of countries to sign the protest note is quite
high and includes all of the major countries who are
members of the International Whaling Commission."
Mr
Shallhorn said Japan's decision was a victory for
people power and showed the new federal government
was clearly reacting to Australians fed up with Japan's
whaling program.
He
said that cabinet documents from Japan showed their
intention to move towards commercial whaling.
"Yesterday's
statement by the cabinet reaffirms what we have been
saying for many years, which is that the hunt in the
Southern Ocean is a commercial hunt and that is the
Japanese policy," he said.
"They
intend to continue and expand that hunt."
Mr
Shallhorn said the Greenpeace ship Esperanza was on
its way to the Southern Ocean.
"We
will use our inflatable rubber boats and put ourselves
between the whales and the gunners' harpoon,"
he said.
Mr
Shallhorn said Greenpeace was calling on the Japanese
government to pledge to not build a new whaling super
ship.
"Greenpeace
calls on the Japanese government to recall its fleet
and to halt all whaling in the southern ocean."
News
'Crocodile
Hunter' Widow to Launch Whale Research
'Crocodile Hunter' widow Terri Irwin to launch non-lethal
whale research in Antarctic waters - 26th December
2007
(Credit:
ABC News)
The
widow of TV "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin
announced Thursday she will launch non-lethal research
of whales in Antarctic waters next year in hopes of
showing that Japan's scientific whale kill is a sham.
Tokyo
has staunchly defended its annual cull of more than
1,000 whales as crucial for research, saying it is
necessary to kill the whales to properly gather information
about their eating, breeding and migratory habits.
Environmentalists
and anti-whaling nations say the slaughter is commercial
whaling in disguise, because much of the meat from
the whales ends up being sold commercially.
Terri
Irwin said that a whale watching program she started
to honor her late husband would expand into scientific
research in 2008. Steve Irwin, the high-profile wildlife
show host and environmental campaigner, was killed
by a stingray last year off Australia's Great Barrier
Reef.
"We
are working with Oregon State University to do formalized
research in the southern hemisphere," Terri Irwin
told the Nine Network television. "We can actually
learn everything the Japanese are learning with lethal
research by using non-lethal research."
Japan's
whaling fleet is run by a government-backed research
institute and operates under a clause in International
Whaling Commission rules that allows whales to be
killed for scientific purposes.
Japan
had planned to kill up to 50 endangered humpback whales
this season, but backed away from the plan in the
face of strong international condemnation.
"We
are determined to show the Japanese they can stop
all whaling, not just humpbacks," Irwin said.
Further
details of Irwin's planned research program were not
immediately available.
Earlier
this month, Irwin threw her support behind a radical
conservation group that has vowed to disrupt Japan's
annual whale hunt, allowing the U.S.-based Sea Shepherd
Conservation Society to rename one of its flagship
vessels after her late husband.
Sea
Shepherd has come under heavy criticism in recent
years for engaging in violent tussles with the Japanese
whaling fleet in Antarctic waters.
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