Stop Japan's Whaling! Australia Please Step In!
- da: Citizens of the World, Care2 Members & Sea Shepherd
- destinatario: Kevin Rudd Australian Prime Minister, Peter Garrett Aus Enviro Minister
Japan has repeatedly threatened to include humpbacks in their Antarctic hunt and they use the humpbacks as pawns in the diplomatic process that's underway, for a compromise over commercial whaling," she said.
"And they choose the humpbacks because they are a special species that means a lot to Australians.
"However, what we must remember is that they're already killing nearly 1,000 minke whales and 50 fin whales in Antarctica and these are also beautiful whales," she said.
"Fin whales are the second largest whale and horrific cruelty is involved in killing such a large animal with harpoons and rifles.
"It can take up to half-an-hour, an hour for them to die, very painfully, very slowly.
"So the humpbacks is a major concern, but I think that's more of a political game that Japan's playing. What they are already doing in Antarctica is an atrocity."
Humpback whales have not been in the quota in the past.
The International Whaling Commission met in Seattle on Monday.
At the conclusion of the meeting pro and anti-whaling countries reached a compromise, promising to more effectively conserve whales and "manage" the whaling that is happening in our oceans.
Anti-whaling conservationists say they are again intent on disrupting Japanese whalers in the Southern Ocean and are concerned humpbacks may be included in the hunt this season, for the first time.
Japan's fisheries minister has confirmed the country has sent two ships to keep an eye on anti-whaling activists and says the boats will monitor Sea Shepherd, which has launched two of its own ships to intercept the Japanese fleet.
Fisheries Minister Hirotaka Akamatsu says Japan will continue to carry out its research program while placing top priority on safety.
The international media director for the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, Amy Baird, says the move shows the Japanese government is getting frustrated.
Such a compromise would create a whopping great big loophole and probably end up in seeing more whales being slaughtered.
"You can't have a compromise on this; either you have a ban on commercial whaling or you don't."
This year's hunt will largely be conducted in waters off the Australian Antarctic Territory.
Amy Baird says the Australian Government needs to do more.
* Which whales are endangered?
Minke whale: lower risk, Humpback whale: vulnerable, Blue whale: endangered, Fin whale: endangered, Right whale: endangered (North Pacific and North Atlantic species) and lower risk (Southern species), Sei whale: endangered, Sperm whale: endangered, Bowhead whale: lower risk, Bryde's whale: insufficient data to list, Gray whale: lower risk.
* Which whales are hunted, and who hunts them?
The International Whaling Commission (IWC) gives this list of the whaling that is formally allowed. Most of these catches are allowed under allowances for aboriginal populations to hunt for subsistence.
- Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort Seas stock of bowhead whales (taken by native people of Alaska and Chukotka) - A total of up to 280 bowhead whales can be landed in the period 2008 - 2012, with no more than 67 whales struck in any year (and up to 15 unused strikes may be carried over each year).
(A Strike Limit means that once that number of whales have been hit with a harpoon (or rifle in the case of Greenland), hunting must stop, regardless of how many were landed.)
- Eastern North Pacific gray whales (taken by native people of Chukotka and Washington State ) - A total catch of 620 whales is allowed for the years 2008 - 2012 with a maximum of 140 in any one year.
* What does Australia want?
The Australian Government supports an end to all commercial and scientific whaling.
Before the 2007 election Australia said it would take Japan to an international court over whaling. In late June 2009 it was still considering its options.
Australia wants to turn the IWC into a conservation body, while Japan and other whaling nations want to use the body to find sustainable catch limits for whales.
"The nations of the South Pacific strongly support the establishment of a sanctuary to protect great whales in their region. A South Pacific Whale Sanctuary will complement existing whale sanctuaries in the Southern and Indian Oceans," the Australian Government says in a fact sheet.
"The South Pacific is home to all species of great whales found in the Southern Hemisphere. They are blue, fin, sei, southern right, humpback, Bryde's, minke, pygmy right and sperm whales. There are many good reasons to protect these marine creatures, which are still being killed for commercial gain under the guise of 'scientific' whaling."
What do environmental groups want?
Greenpeace is campaigning to ensure Japan, Norway and Iceland do not succeed in lifting the ban on whaling (the moratorium).
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society declares its mission to be: "to end the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the world's oceans in order to conserve and protect ecosystems and species."
Ships from the Sea Shepherd society have been involved in controversial and sometimes violent action against Japan's whaling fleet to try and stop its operations. Japan has called the Sea Shepherd's actions criminal.
The society says it is the only organisation in the world that enforces the regulations protecting whales.
The captain of the anti-whaling ship the Steve Irwin, Paul Watson, was arrested in Portugal on an outstanding 30-year-old arrest warrant in late June, 2009. The arrest was in relation to allegations he had rammed a whaling ship. He was released after being held for just four hours.
The Society has signalled its intentions to maintain its actions against the Japanese whaling fleet in the summer of 2009/2010, with the deployment of a high-speed trimaran into the Southern Ocean.
Japan has now sent two ships to monitor & harass anti-whaling protesters namely "Sea Shepherd" in the Antarctic waters.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/06/24/2607111.htm
"And they choose the humpbacks because they are a special species that means a lot to Australians.
"However, what we must remember is that they're already killing nearly 1,000 minke whales and 50 fin whales in Antarctica and these are also beautiful whales," she said.
"Fin whales are the second largest whale and horrific cruelty is involved in killing such a large animal with harpoons and rifles.
"It can take up to half-an-hour, an hour for them to die, very painfully, very slowly.
"So the humpbacks is a major concern, but I think that's more of a political game that Japan's playing. What they are already doing in Antarctica is an atrocity."
Humpback whales have not been in the quota in the past.
The International Whaling Commission met in Seattle on Monday.
At the conclusion of the meeting pro and anti-whaling countries reached a compromise, promising to more effectively conserve whales and "manage" the whaling that is happening in our oceans.
Anti-whaling conservationists say they are again intent on disrupting Japanese whalers in the Southern Ocean and are concerned humpbacks may be included in the hunt this season, for the first time.
Japan's fisheries minister has confirmed the country has sent two ships to keep an eye on anti-whaling activists and says the boats will monitor Sea Shepherd, which has launched two of its own ships to intercept the Japanese fleet.
Fisheries Minister Hirotaka Akamatsu says Japan will continue to carry out its research program while placing top priority on safety.
The international media director for the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, Amy Baird, says the move shows the Japanese government is getting frustrated.
Such a compromise would create a whopping great big loophole and probably end up in seeing more whales being slaughtered.
"You can't have a compromise on this; either you have a ban on commercial whaling or you don't."
This year's hunt will largely be conducted in waters off the Australian Antarctic Territory.
Amy Baird says the Australian Government needs to do more.
* Which whales are endangered?
Minke whale: lower risk, Humpback whale: vulnerable, Blue whale: endangered, Fin whale: endangered, Right whale: endangered (North Pacific and North Atlantic species) and lower risk (Southern species), Sei whale: endangered, Sperm whale: endangered, Bowhead whale: lower risk, Bryde's whale: insufficient data to list, Gray whale: lower risk.
* Which whales are hunted, and who hunts them?
The International Whaling Commission (IWC) gives this list of the whaling that is formally allowed. Most of these catches are allowed under allowances for aboriginal populations to hunt for subsistence.
- Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort Seas stock of bowhead whales (taken by native people of Alaska and Chukotka) - A total of up to 280 bowhead whales can be landed in the period 2008 - 2012, with no more than 67 whales struck in any year (and up to 15 unused strikes may be carried over each year).
(A Strike Limit means that once that number of whales have been hit with a harpoon (or rifle in the case of Greenland), hunting must stop, regardless of how many were landed.)
- Eastern North Pacific gray whales (taken by native people of Chukotka and Washington State ) - A total catch of 620 whales is allowed for the years 2008 - 2012 with a maximum of 140 in any one year.
* What does Australia want?
The Australian Government supports an end to all commercial and scientific whaling.
Before the 2007 election Australia said it would take Japan to an international court over whaling. In late June 2009 it was still considering its options.
Australia wants to turn the IWC into a conservation body, while Japan and other whaling nations want to use the body to find sustainable catch limits for whales.
"The nations of the South Pacific strongly support the establishment of a sanctuary to protect great whales in their region. A South Pacific Whale Sanctuary will complement existing whale sanctuaries in the Southern and Indian Oceans," the Australian Government says in a fact sheet.
"The South Pacific is home to all species of great whales found in the Southern Hemisphere. They are blue, fin, sei, southern right, humpback, Bryde's, minke, pygmy right and sperm whales. There are many good reasons to protect these marine creatures, which are still being killed for commercial gain under the guise of 'scientific' whaling."
What do environmental groups want?
Greenpeace is campaigning to ensure Japan, Norway and Iceland do not succeed in lifting the ban on whaling (the moratorium).
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society declares its mission to be: "to end the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the world's oceans in order to conserve and protect ecosystems and species."
Ships from the Sea Shepherd society have been involved in controversial and sometimes violent action against Japan's whaling fleet to try and stop its operations. Japan has called the Sea Shepherd's actions criminal.
The society says it is the only organisation in the world that enforces the regulations protecting whales.
The captain of the anti-whaling ship the Steve Irwin, Paul Watson, was arrested in Portugal on an outstanding 30-year-old arrest warrant in late June, 2009. The arrest was in relation to allegations he had rammed a whaling ship. He was released after being held for just four hours.
The Society has signalled its intentions to maintain its actions against the Japanese whaling fleet in the summer of 2009/2010, with the deployment of a high-speed trimaran into the Southern Ocean.
Japan has now sent two ships to monitor & harass anti-whaling protesters namely "Sea Shepherd" in the Antarctic waters.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/06/24/2607111.htm
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/12/10/2768292.htm
Ask Japan to stop ALL whaling, sign bellow!!
We citizens of the world strongly request:
o All whaling activity is stopped from occurring in Australian
territorial waters by the Commonwealth Government.
o Immediate steps are taken to prosecute boats detected slaughtering
whales within Australian territorial waters, whether for scientific or
commercial purposes and irrespective of whether that country recognises
our territorial waters.
o The Australian government maintains a strong stance on the moratorium
on commercial whaling.
o The government will not grant Japan or any other whaling nation the
right to hunt whales in Australian territorial waters.
o The Federal government take Japan to the International Court of
Justice for abuse of rights to IRWC for whales already killed in our
waters. Diplomatic protests are not enough - Japan needs to know we are
dead serious about this.
o That cetacean products are removed from the tariff schedule in the
Free Trade Agreement. Australians do not want cetaceans traded in this
country!
o That the Federal government reaffirm its commitment to the Southern
Ocean Whale Sanctuary in the Antarctic.
We are deeply concerned about not only minke whales but also
endangered humpback whales that tourists have been watching for the last
20 years. These whales come right up to the boats and will be easy
targets for Japanese "scientific" whaling ships. Whale watching has
become a $273 million industry annually in Australia and Japanese
whaling in Antarctic waters will destroy this thriving industry.
Japan's estimate of whale numbers is vastly incorrect since original
population numbers were exaggerated by a force of 6-20 according to
Professor Stephen Palumbi whose groundbreaking genetic studies show that
whale populations are down to 1% of former numbers. Obviously, all
whaling worldwide should stop immediately. No whale populations have
come even close to recovering from 200 years of commercial whaling.
Additionally, whales face serious environmental challenges (noise and
chemical pollution, seismic and naval sonar, entanglement in nets,
global warming seriously affecting plankton availability, ship strikes,
and habitat loss etc) in addition to being slow breeders with a high
infant mortality rate.
Another important consideration is the inherent cruelty involved in
killing whales. There is no humane way to kill an animal so large.
Because of this, whales suffer excruciating deaths, and for what reason?
It is not necessary for humans to eat whales for survival. Whales are
more than just "big fish" to be served up in fancy restaurants and
school lunch programs. They are highly intelligent, sentient beings.
Finally, the oceans are in a state of collapse. Whales are beneficial to
the ocean as their excrement feeds plankton which feeds all fish in the
sea and oxygenates the water. Without plankton all fish starve from lack
of food and suffocate from lack of oxygen in the water. Already plankton
is in serious decline all over the world. If whales are removed,
plankton levels will decline even further. If the ocean further degrades
to the point where it is dead (as are 160 areas known as dead zones
around the world), the availability of atmospheric oxygen will be
severely diminished since we rely on oceans for 70-80% of our oxygen.
Furthermore, the ocean will offgas CO2 in amounts far greater than all
global fossil fuel burning combined. This poses a life-threatening
impact for all earth dwellers.
Mr Rudd, please do not confuse the issue of illegal whaling in our
territorial waters with concern for maintaining cordial trade relations
with Japan. These are separate issues.
Japan must be made to understand:
a) the precarious state of the oceans' ecosystems today brought on
mainly by overfishing and whaling;
b) the invaluable part whales play in keeping the oceans healthy;
c) why humans depend for survival on a healthy ocean; and
d) a healthy ocean overrides short-term profits from killing whales.
The IWC has repeatedly criticised and censured Japan over their
so-called "scientific" whaling program because it is totally unnecessary
for whale conservation to know the ages of whales in order to set catch
quotas. The IWC urges all members to use non-lethal methods but Japan
has consistently and flagrantly violated IWC rulings. Instead, Japan is
fixated on feeding millions of their people from an ever-dwindling ocean
supply to the detriment of the entire ocean. Are they even thinking of a
future for planet Earth or just immediate economic advantages?
Mr. Rudd, if you are really serious about protecting our whales and
opposing Japan's efforts to sabotage the IWC, the only path to pursue is
international legal action. You have the ability to completely destroy
the goodwill of Australia built up over many years from the Liberal
party's protection of whales.
If you fail to act now, whales may never recover - in fact they may
become extinct in the world. What a tragic loss that would be and a
testament to human stupidity and greed.
Firma la petizioneFirma la petizioneo All whaling activity is stopped from occurring in Australian
territorial waters by the Commonwealth Government.
o Immediate steps are taken to prosecute boats detected slaughtering
whales within Australian territorial waters, whether for scientific or
commercial purposes and irrespective of whether that country recognises
our territorial waters.
o The Australian government maintains a strong stance on the moratorium
on commercial whaling.
o The government will not grant Japan or any other whaling nation the
right to hunt whales in Australian territorial waters.
o The Federal government take Japan to the International Court of
Justice for abuse of rights to IRWC for whales already killed in our
waters. Diplomatic protests are not enough - Japan needs to know we are
dead serious about this.
o That cetacean products are removed from the tariff schedule in the
Free Trade Agreement. Australians do not want cetaceans traded in this
country!
o That the Federal government reaffirm its commitment to the Southern
Ocean Whale Sanctuary in the Antarctic.
We are deeply concerned about not only minke whales but also
endangered humpback whales that tourists have been watching for the last
20 years. These whales come right up to the boats and will be easy
targets for Japanese "scientific" whaling ships. Whale watching has
become a $273 million industry annually in Australia and Japanese
whaling in Antarctic waters will destroy this thriving industry.
Japan's estimate of whale numbers is vastly incorrect since original
population numbers were exaggerated by a force of 6-20 according to
Professor Stephen Palumbi whose groundbreaking genetic studies show that
whale populations are down to 1% of former numbers. Obviously, all
whaling worldwide should stop immediately. No whale populations have
come even close to recovering from 200 years of commercial whaling.
Additionally, whales face serious environmental challenges (noise and
chemical pollution, seismic and naval sonar, entanglement in nets,
global warming seriously affecting plankton availability, ship strikes,
and habitat loss etc) in addition to being slow breeders with a high
infant mortality rate.
Another important consideration is the inherent cruelty involved in
killing whales. There is no humane way to kill an animal so large.
Because of this, whales suffer excruciating deaths, and for what reason?
It is not necessary for humans to eat whales for survival. Whales are
more than just "big fish" to be served up in fancy restaurants and
school lunch programs. They are highly intelligent, sentient beings.
Finally, the oceans are in a state of collapse. Whales are beneficial to
the ocean as their excrement feeds plankton which feeds all fish in the
sea and oxygenates the water. Without plankton all fish starve from lack
of food and suffocate from lack of oxygen in the water. Already plankton
is in serious decline all over the world. If whales are removed,
plankton levels will decline even further. If the ocean further degrades
to the point where it is dead (as are 160 areas known as dead zones
around the world), the availability of atmospheric oxygen will be
severely diminished since we rely on oceans for 70-80% of our oxygen.
Furthermore, the ocean will offgas CO2 in amounts far greater than all
global fossil fuel burning combined. This poses a life-threatening
impact for all earth dwellers.
Mr Rudd, please do not confuse the issue of illegal whaling in our
territorial waters with concern for maintaining cordial trade relations
with Japan. These are separate issues.
Japan must be made to understand:
a) the precarious state of the oceans' ecosystems today brought on
mainly by overfishing and whaling;
b) the invaluable part whales play in keeping the oceans healthy;
c) why humans depend for survival on a healthy ocean; and
d) a healthy ocean overrides short-term profits from killing whales.
The IWC has repeatedly criticised and censured Japan over their
so-called "scientific" whaling program because it is totally unnecessary
for whale conservation to know the ages of whales in order to set catch
quotas. The IWC urges all members to use non-lethal methods but Japan
has consistently and flagrantly violated IWC rulings. Instead, Japan is
fixated on feeding millions of their people from an ever-dwindling ocean
supply to the detriment of the entire ocean. Are they even thinking of a
future for planet Earth or just immediate economic advantages?
Mr. Rudd, if you are really serious about protecting our whales and
opposing Japan's efforts to sabotage the IWC, the only path to pursue is
international legal action. You have the ability to completely destroy
the goodwill of Australia built up over many years from the Liberal
party's protection of whales.
If you fail to act now, whales may never recover - in fact they may
become extinct in the world. What a tragic loss that would be and a
testament to human stupidity and greed.
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