Australia and New Zealand hail ban on whaling in Antarctica despite fears of Japan sidestep
A “deeply disappointed” Tokyo says it will honour the UN ruling it must halt its annual Antarctic whale hunt, but does not exclude possibility of future whaling programmes
Australia and New Zealand has hailed a landmark court decision that Japan must halt an annual Antarctic whale hunt, despite fears it may try to sidestep the order.
The United Nations’ Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled yesterday that Japan’s whaling programme was a commercial activity disguised as science.
The ICJ said Japan's programme was in contavention of a 1986 moratorium on whale hunting and it must revoke existing whaling licences.
“The ICJ decision sinks a giant harpoon into the legality of Japan’s whaling programme”
A “deeply disappointed” Tokyo has said it will honour the ruling, but did not exclude the possibility of future whaling programmes, with New Zealand expressing fears that Japan may try to circumvent the order.
“The ICJ decision sinks a giant harpoon into the legality of Japan’s whaling programme,” said New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully.
“It still does leave Japan with a decision to make after they’ve digested this which is to look at whether they try to devise a new programme that is scientifically based that they could embark upon whaling in the Southern Ocean again.
“Our task is to make sure that we carry out a diplomatic conversation that dissuades them from embarking on that course.”
