Japanese whalers accused of slaughter within sanctuary

Photos allegedly show a Japanese vessel with a dead minke whale inside an Australian whale sanctuary.

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Megan Shersby

Published: January 17, 2017 at 3:01 pm

Activists have released images that appear to show a Japanese ship with a dead minke whale on its deck, which they claim was caught and slaughtered within the sanctuary.

The international court of justice ruled in 2014 that Japan’s whaling in the Antarctic was illegal.

Japan says that they need to kill the mammals in order to study them for their scientific research.

“The Australian government is deeply disappointed that Japan has decided to return to the Southern Ocean this summer to undertake so-called ‘scientific whaling’,” said Josh Frydenberg, Australia’s environment minister.

Japanese crew covered up the whale with a tarpaulin. © Sea Shepherd Global/Glenn Lockitch

The activists from marine conservation organisation Sea Shepherd say that the boat’s crew covered up the whale carcass and the harpoons when they saw their helicopter.

Naturalist, writer and content creator

Megan is a naturalist, writer and content creator. She is also a bookworm and a keen board gamer. She is the former editorial and digital co-ordinator at BBC Wildlife, and wrote features and sections for both the print magazine and discoverwildlife.com, including the Q&A and Go Wild sections, Poo Corner and News Species Discovery, the weekly e-newsletter and the social media accounts. Her features have included olms (cave salamanders) in Slovenia, arapaima (very big fish) in Guyana, and the role of hippos as ecosystem engineers in Zambia. She has also contributed to the website and magazine of BBC Countryfile Magazine, and has hosted some its podcast episodes. Prior to joining BBC Wildlife in 2016, she gained a degree in BSc(Hons) Animal Science, undertook behavioural research on zebras and dwarf mongooses, and worked in environmental education for a number of conservation charities.

SI Blue Hornet heli finds the Japanese whaling fleet including the Nisshin Maru, Yushin Maru and the Yushin Maru No. 2. After being spotted with a whale on board the Nishhin they covered it in a blue tarp to not be filmed.

© Nature Picture Library/Getty