South Korea to continue whaling in pursuit of ‘science’
As South Korea joins Japan in pushing ahead with its whaling plans, is it time for the practice to be stopped all together?
As South Korea joins Japan in pushing ahead with its whaling plans, is it time for the practice to be stopped all together?
Hunting whales in the pursuit of scientific research is one that many whaling countries use to justify their deeply unpopular expeditions. Amongst them is South Korea, who this week announced that it plans to continue hunting whales for the purpose of science at a meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in Panama.
A loophole in the IWC 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling permits countries to hunt whales in the name of science, and it has been used by a number of nations before, most notably Japan.
South Korea says the research they plan to carry out, off the Korean coast, is crucial to accurately determine whale stocks in the region.
The decision has drawn strong criticism from countries opposed to whaling, including Australia, who’s Prime Minister Julia Gillard said she would do all they could to block the decision. “Our ambassador will speak to counterparts in South Korea, at the highest levels of the government, and indicate Australia’s opposition to this decision.”
The head of the New Zealand delegation, Gerard van Bohemen, described the plans as “reckless,” adding “New Zealand is strongly opposed to (South) Korea’s proposal.”
In October of last year, Japan announced plans to continue its annual whale hunt in the South Ocean, despite a disastrous previous year that saw their ships disrupted and outnumbered by the Sea Shepherd group of anti-whaling protestors.
Pro-whaling countries claim that whale meat has been a staple part of their population’s diet, although in Japan it has sharply declined over the last 50 years. However, many opponents want an outright ban imposed, and for countries to strive for conserving whale populations.
Japan maintains that commercial whaling provides important scientific benefits, however at a 2010 IWC summit a 200-strong group of international scientists condemned this stance, saying: “Given the risks involved and that commercial whaling meets no essential human need, we call on all the IWC governments to abandon experiments in the
