No More Whaling In The SOWS, Says Earthrace Conservation

The overnight announcement by the Japanese Minister of Agriculture, stating that Japan would resume whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary accompanied by military vessels has shocked and angered people and conservation groups worldwide, including Earthrace Conservation (ECO).

Earthrace Conservation Organisation, founded in 2010 by New Zealander Pete Bethune, who famously boarded the Shonan Maru, the vessel that rammed and destroyed his ship, the Ady Gil. Bethune subsequently spent 5 months in a Japanese maximum security prison.

ECO strongly criticises the resumption of whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, New Zealand's own backyard.

Pete Bethune is clearly incensed: "It is deeply offensive to many people that Japan has decided to resume their supposed research whaling program in Antarctica. Japan has no history or culture of whaling in Antarctica, nor do they have any legal or moral right to be there. It is time for the Japanese to pack up their shotguns and their explosive harpoons, and to head back to their own waters."

Both the Labour and the Green Party support the idea that there should be a New Zealand Naval presence in the SOWS, as do many people, as evidenced on social networking sites such as Facebook.

Earthrace Conservation New Zealand agrees wholeheartedly. Scott Bowman, Director of ECO, South Island, feels outraged: "As one of many people from around New Zealand and the world who donated to the Japanese earthquake appeal and relief efforts. It's an insult that the Japanese government is effectively using donations, given out of compassion for the suffering of their citizens devastated by natural disasters, to prop up their illegal whaling activities in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. They flout the IWC rules on whaling and the IMO MARPOL regulations which require vessels to be double skinned in Antarctica. The time has come for the New Zealand and Australian governments to step up to the mark and send their navy vessels to protect the SOWS and uphold the maritime laws there."

Marianne, a ECO volunteer from Christchurch stated today: "We didn't mind giving to the Japanese earthquake appeal, despite having our own here at home... now it feels like a kick in the teeth. It's a betrayal that they should return to our backyard to kill these magnificent creatures, and for what? Hardly anyone in Japan eats whale meat anymore! It takes up to 40 minutes for a whale to die an agonising death, and quite honestly, it makes me sick!"

Earthrace Conservation aims to work closely with other conservation groups worldwide to bring an end to the barbaric practice of whaling once and for all.
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