The International Whaling Commission (IWC) imposed a global ban on commercial hunting in 1986 because of the devastating effects whaling has had on populations. But whales' lives are still in peril.
"Scientific whaling," or whaling with the excuse of conducting research, has emerged to sidestep the ban. One major culprit is Japan, who currently harpoons more than one thousand whales a year. The whale meat is packaged for sale in restaurants and supermarkets in Japan, and even included in school lunch programs. Japan insists that whale flesh is an important source of food for its people. However, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society reports that Japan's stockpile of whale meat has doubled in the past decade as a result of more and more animals being killed each year. The excess whale meat is being sold as dog food in the latest attempt by Japan to stimulate the market and shift the hundreds of tons of whale meat piling up in Japanese warehouses.
Over 5000 tons of whale meat sits in cold storage, unsold and unused. Tell the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan to stop the wasteful harpooning of whales and to truly respect the IWC's ban.
Dear Mr. Wakabayashi:
I am dismayed at the fact that Japan continues to harpoon whales, despite the International Whaling Commission's ban on commercial whaling. The stated aim of the Japanese JARPA research program is to establish sustainable whaling, but the program's methods are far from sustainable. The sample size caught is excessively large, so large that meat is being packaged for dog food. In addition, approximately 5000 tons of whale meat remain in cold storage, unsold and unused.
The reported major discoveries made by JARPA include finding the population structure of minke whales in the Antarctic to be healthy; detecting change in the ecosystem of the Antarctic Ocean; and finding "very low level" of containments in minke whales. These discoveries could have been made without the excessive sample size and without the killing of whales.
The IWCA's ban was on commercial whaling, and you cite your whaling practices to be for scientific research. However, it is evident that Japan's whaling is excessive, wasteful and harming whales more than helping them. I urge you to curtail whaling and instead use JARPA to promote the livelihood of whales.
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Sincerely,
[Your name]
