Whale Hunters

Japan stirs up a debate by restarting its whale-hunting program near Antarctica.

BY JOE BUBAR

In December, four ships armed with harpoons set sail from Japan. They were headed to the icy waters of the Southern Ocean near Antarctica. The ships are expected to capture and kill more than 300 whales by early March.

Japan’s whale hunts have been causing debates for years.Commercial whaling (hunting whales as a business) was banned worldwide in 1986, after many whale species had nearly been wiped out. But countries are still allowed to hunt whales for scientific research.

Japan has long claimed that its hunts are done in the name of science, but many animal rights groups and world leaders disagree. In March 2014, the United Nations (U.N.) ordered Japan to end its whale hunts near Antarctica. But this winter, Japanese whalers returned to the Southern Ocean in defiance(a refusal to follow rules or directions) of the U.N.’s orders.

A WHALE OF A DEBATE

Japan’s new whaling program is scheduled to last 12 years. During that time, Japan plans to kill 333 minke (MIN-kuh) whales per year—about one third as many as it hunted in the past. Japan claims that capturing whales will allow scientists to study the giant mammals up close and learn more about their diet and habits.

But opponents of Japan’s whaling program argue that the country is using research as an excuse. Critics say the true goal is to kill whales for their meat. The Japanese have been hunting whales for their meat for centuries and consider whaling an important part of their history.

WHALE WARS

One of the major opponents of Japan’s whaling program is a group called the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. As it has done in past years, the group sent a ship to the Southern Ocean to try to chase away the Japanese whalers. Paul Watson, the founder of Sea Shepherd, says that Japan is breaking international law. He argues that if Japan really wanted to study the whales, it wouldn’t be harming them.

“Anything that needs to be understood about the whales can certainly be discovered without killing them,” he says.

Do you think the Japanese whale hunters should continue or stop hunting whales? Tell why.