M21
06-02-2010, 12:58 PM
TOKYO — Japan said Tuesday it would staunchly defend its research hunt that kills hundreds of whales per year, a day after Australia filed an international lawsuit arguing that the cull does not qualify for a scientific exemption to a 1986 ban.
Australia — Japan's major trading partner — filed its lawsuit with the International Court of Justice in The Hague on Monday, officials in both countries confirmed, after Canberra announced its intention last week to file suit following years of fruitless diplomatic efforts to end the hunt.
It should be easy to move for dismissal when Japan lays out their volumes of scientific data collected over the years....oh wait there isn't any.
New Zealand has said it will decide within weeks whether it will file a similar case against Japan.
Japanese officials say whaling is a national tradition and a vital part of the country's food culture. Tokyo also argues whale stocks have sufficiently recovered since 1986 to allow a resumption of limited hunts among certain species.
LINK TO FULL AP STORY (http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iBEICycQuv-N-B7LsPy0LLnrW56gD9G2CTP81)
This Friday, June 4 Whale Wars on Animal Planet starts a new season.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y38/M21/whaling_narrowweb__300x3770.jpg
Australia — Japan's major trading partner — filed its lawsuit with the International Court of Justice in The Hague on Monday, officials in both countries confirmed, after Canberra announced its intention last week to file suit following years of fruitless diplomatic efforts to end the hunt.
It should be easy to move for dismissal when Japan lays out their volumes of scientific data collected over the years....oh wait there isn't any.
New Zealand has said it will decide within weeks whether it will file a similar case against Japan.
Japanese officials say whaling is a national tradition and a vital part of the country's food culture. Tokyo also argues whale stocks have sufficiently recovered since 1986 to allow a resumption of limited hunts among certain species.
LINK TO FULL AP STORY (http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iBEICycQuv-N-B7LsPy0LLnrW56gD9G2CTP81)
This Friday, June 4 Whale Wars on Animal Planet starts a new season.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y38/M21/whaling_narrowweb__300x3770.jpg