Whale Wars

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October 2008
- Palin Can't Keep Beluga Off Endangered List
  
  New York Times | Oct 18, 08 3:29 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The beluga whales living in Alaska’s Cook Inlet were declared an endangered species yesterday over Sarah Palin’s vehement objections, the New York Times reports. The beluga population was cut almost in half during the late '90s, and hasn’t recovered despite a wave of new protections. But Palin campaigned hard against declaring them endangered, because it might restrict coastal oil and gas development. More »
September 2008
- Whale Meat Makes Comeback in Iceland
  
  Wall Street Journal | Sep 2, 08 9:16 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Illegal for two decades, whale meat is back on menus in Iceland, and entrepreneurs are hoping to turn young people on to its charms, the Wall Street Journal reports. The food is reminiscent of beef, but costs only half as much—perhaps a mark in its favor for the young. Still, encouraging them to try the stuff is difficult. “It's not going to happen,” says one 20-year-old. More »
August 2008
- Humpbacks No Longer in Danger
  
  Guardian (UK) | Aug 12, 08 9:56 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Humpback whales, once feared to be on the verge of extinction, have made such a dramatic comeback that the International Union for Conservation of Nature has removed them from its list of vulnerable species. A ban on humpback whaling in the 1960s has allowed their numbers to grow to 55,000 worldwide, reports the Guardian . More »
June 2008
- World Body Postpones Decision on Whale Hunts
  
  Economist | Jun 25, 08 8:25 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A moratorium on commercial whaling looks set to continue for another year after an international body put off a decision yesterday, the Economist notes, but its fate beyond that appears tenuous. The 81-nation International Whaling Commission, often paralyzed by conflicting views, also decided to revamp its decision-making process by forming a core panel of 20 nations to hash out resolutions. More »
- Supreme Court Will Hear Navy Sonar Appeal
  
  Los Angeles Times | Jun 23, 08 1:06 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Supreme Court today agreed to hear the US Navy's objection to a court order that ships may not use sonar within 12 miles of the California coast because high-frequency signals are harming whales and other marine life, the Los Angeles Times reports. The Bush administration argues that the judge exceeded her authority in putting environmental concerns before national security. More »
April 2008
- Whales Return to Moby Dick's Old Haunts
  
  Los Angeles Times | Apr 28, 08 3:20 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Hosts of whale sightings are being reported off southern Chile, raising conservationists' hopes for a resurgence of the populations—including the real-life inspiration for Moby Dick —that flourished in the area before they were hunted nearly to extinction. Experts warn the apparent boom could be the result of more pairs of eyes looking for the animals, the Los Angeles Times reports. More »
March 2008
- Aussies Face Protests Over Kangaroo Cull
  
  Sydney Morning Herald | Mar 17, 08 9:10 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Australia is planning to cull 400 kangaroos on a military base, and Japan—oft-criticized by Australia for its whaling practices—is jumping at the opportunity to hail its neighbor as hypocritical, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. Not so, says Australia’s PM. The whaling issue is subject to "an agreement between many states, and it goes to whether what is occurring is scientific whaling or not," said Kevin Rudd. More »
- Nations Mull Secret Whaling Compromise
  
  Independent (UK) | Mar 9, 08 4:02 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Representatives from more than 70 governments gathered last week at a secret meeting in London to hash out a compromise that would allow Japan to resume commercial whaling for the first time in more than 20 years. Pro- and anti-whaling nations discussed plans to lift the worldwide ban on whaling, but not without raising the ire of environmentalists, the Independent says. More »
- Japanese 'Frankenwhale' Experiments Slammed
  
  Australia's News Network | Mar 8, 08 11:14 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Scientists have reviewed the research Japan uses to justify hunting whales, and they've concluded that it is mostly useless—and very weird, Sydney's Daily Telegraph reports. Researchers tried to fertilize cow and pig eggs with whale sperm, and to create test-tube whales from frozen sperm. "It's totally esoteric, very strange research," an Australian scientist said. More »
- Whaling Protester Says He Was Shot
  
  Guardian (UK) | Mar 7, 08 10:03 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - An anti-whaling activist says he was shot during a clash with a Japanese ship on the high seas, the Guardian reports. Japanese officials deny the allegations from the captain of the Sea Shepherd and say they fired only flash grenades, not bullets. Paul Watson, though, says he pulled one from his Kevlar vest. More »
- Activists Hurl 'Acid' at Whalers
  
  Reuters | Mar 3, 08 8:46 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - In the latest clash between Japanese whalers and activists in Antarctic waters, members of a militant anti-whaling group threw bottles of a slick, foul-smelling rancid butter concoction onto the whaling fleet's flagship. Japanese officials said three sailors were injured when butyric acid, found in spoiled butter, splashed into their eyes, Reuters reports. "It's an unforgivable act and we protest strongly," said a Japanese government spokesman. More »
- Appeals Court Nixes Sonar Exemption Claim by Navy
  
  Los Angeles Times | Mar 2, 08 5:25 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - The US Navy is not exempt from laws that ban whale-harming sonar, a federal appeals court has ruled. The Bush administration had contested an earlier ruling, arguing that halting sonar use when whales are nearby poses "significant restrictions on our ability to train realistically." Whales and dolphins have been found dead of bleeding around the brain near training sites, the Los Angeles Times reports. More »
February 2008
- Japanese Dolphin Cuisine: Cruelty or Culture?
  
  CNN | Feb 12, 08 10:35 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - One activist calls the Japanese city of Taiji "ground zero for the largest slaughter of dolphins on planet Earth," but locals want him and his cohorts to mind their own business. Residents of Taiji have been eating dolphin meat for hundreds of years and say they have as much right to do so as Westerners have to eat beef, CNN reports. More »
- Whales Fall as Hunt Resumes
  
  Australia's News Network | Feb 1, 08 9:45 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Japanese whalers have resumed their hunt in Antarctic waters, killing at least five whales when protest ships pulled back to refuel, the Australian News Network reports. Witnesses reported seeing the whales harpooned in the Southern Ocean after ships from Greenpeace and another protest group withdrew. In Tokyo, the Australian foreign minister protested the resumed hunt. More »
January 2008
- Anti-whaling group ends pursuit of Japanese fleet
  
  Guardian (UK) | Jan 30, 08
  
  The marine conservation group, Sea Shepherd, has been forced to abandon its campaign of direct action against Japanese whalers in the Antarctic because its ship is running low on fuel.
- Greenpeace: Whaling to hurt Japanese economy
  
  Xinhua (China) | Jan 21, 08
  
  Greenpeace Japan sent a letter on Monday to two Japanese economic organiz

News Sections

Newser Specials

Stories

Palin Can't Keep Beluga Off Endangered List

Whale Meat Makes Comeback in Iceland

Humpbacks No Longer in Danger

World Body Postpones Decision on Whale Hunts

Supreme Court Will Hear Navy Sonar Appeal

Whales Return to Moby Dick's Old Haunts

Aussies Face Protests Over Kangaroo Cull

Nations Mull Secret Whaling Compromise

Japanese 'Frankenwhale' Experiments Slammed

Whaling Protester Says He Was Shot

Activists Hurl 'Acid' at Whalers

Appeals Court Nixes Sonar Exemption Claim by Navy

Japanese Dolphin Cuisine: Cruelty or Culture?

Whales Fall as Hunt Resumes

Anti-whaling group ends pursuit of Japanese fleet

Greenpeace: Whaling to hurt Japanese economy