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Whale Wars

"The real threat to whales is whaling, which has endangered many whale species." -Dave Barry

The world's great whales are battling for their lives as commercial whaling continues despite the ban in 1986.  Recent prospects of harpooning humpbacks in Japan have galvanized anti-whaling forces, and provoked a more vigorous than usual protest from the US government.

Stories

Stories 21 - 25 of 25

<< Prev 1 2
  • January 2008

    • Risky Showdown Looms as Eco-Ships Near Whalers

      Guardian (UK)  |  Jan 13, 08 6:00 AM CST

      Risky Showdown Looms as Eco-Ships Near Whalers

      (Newser) - Fears of a deadly battle increased yesterday as a Greenpeace ship began to close in on a Japanese whaling fleet intending to kill 1,000 whales. Also steaming through the Southern Ocean off Antarctica was a far more militant "eco ship," planning to ram the whaling vessels. "We are not down here to protest—we're here to stop them," ominously warned a spokesman for Sea Shepherd International. More »

  • December 2007

    • Japan Backs Down on Whaling

      AFP  |  Dec 21, 07 7:35 AM CST

      Japan Backs Down on Whaling

      (Newser) - In its first-ever turnaround on whaling, the Japanese government has dropped its plans to hunt humpbacks. The about-face is a victory for Kevin Rudd, the new Australian prime minister, who had objected strenuously and ordered a patrol of the humpback hunt. Tokyo said, however, that the fleet currently en route to the Antarctic Ocean will hunt almost 1,000 whales of other species, including the giant fin whale. More »

  • November 2007

    • Japan Sends Mixed Signals on Whale Hunt

      Los Angeles Times  |  Nov 24, 07 3:25 PM CST

      Japan Sends Mixed Signals on Whale Hunt

      (Newser) - Japan has a ready defense for its internationally maligned whale hunt: Whaling is integral to Japanese culture, embedded in the country's traditional diet, literature, and religion. Yet this argument looks questionable in light of the Japanese government's refusal to allow indigenous people to continue their traditional salmon fishing, writes Bruce Wallace in an analysis for the LA Times . More »

    • New Zealand to Japanese Whalers: Go Home!

      Sydney Morning Herald  |  Nov 19, 07 3:42 AM CST

      New Zealand to Japanese Whalers: Go Home!

      (Newser) - As a Japanese whaling fleet churned to Antarctic waters, a furious New Zealand prime minister today blasted the "deception" of Japan's claim that the killing ships will conduct research rather than commercial whaling. It would be better "if the Japanese stayed home," said Helen Clark. The fleet will catch over 1,000 whales, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. More »

  • October 2007

    • This Seafarer Hunts Whalers, Not Whales

      New Yorker  |  Oct 30, 07 4:12 PM CDT

      This Seafarer Hunts Whalers, Not Whales

      (Newser) - Paul Watson is far too radical for Greenpeace, the group he co-founded. His vigilante group Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is a roving pack of eco-saboteurs, trolling international waters for whalers—and ramming the offending ships. Watson usually operates illegally, and his theatrical and violent defense of aquatic life is credited with turning Icelandic opinion against saving whales, the New Yorker reports. More »

Stories 21 - 25 of 25

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Paul Watson, with trademark silver hair, poses with his crew of activists in 2005.   (Wikimedia Commons)
Crew members of Japanese whaling vessel Yushin Maru wave as they depart for a hunt that will include humpbacks for the first time in decades at a port of Shimonoseki, southwestern Japan, Sunday, Nov....   (Associated Press)
A Baird's beaked whale is cleaned after it was dragged onto the port deck in Wada, Japan to be slaughtered on Thursday, June 21, 2007. The whaling firm who nabbed the whale is one of a handful of coastal...   (Associated Press)
In this photo released by Greenpeace, a tugboat pushes the 8,044-ton Nisshin Maru, the mother ship of Japanese whaling fleet, as it leaves Shimonoseki Port in Yamaguchi Prefecture (state), western Japan,...   (Associated Press)
The Greenpeace boat Esperanza is seen docked at Yokohama Harbor near Tokyo Friday April 6, 2007. It is now chasing Japanese whalers in the waters off Antarctica. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)   (Associated Press)
(FILES) In this handout picture, the Yushin Maru catcher ship hauls in a catch.   (Getty Images)
Japan's Fisheries Agency chief Shuji Yamada delivers a speech at the departure ceremony at Shimonoseki, Japan, Sunday, Nov. 18, 2007. A Japanese whaling fleet left port Sunday on a hunt that was to include...   (Associated Press)
Crew members of Japanese whaling ships raise cans of beer for a toast during a departure ceremony in Shimonoseki, southwestern Japan, Sunday, Nov. 18, 2007. Four ships, including the 8,044-ton mother...   (Associated Press)
In this photo released by Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, two activists from the environmental group Sea Shepherd, second from right and fifth from right in red jacket, are detained on the Yushin Maru...   (Associated Press)
In this photo released by The Institute of Cetacean Research, an activist from the environmental group Sea Shepherd prepares to hurl a butyric acid-containing bottle against the Japanese whaling vessel...   (Associated Press)
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Background

International Whaling Commission (IWC)
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia

An intergovernmental organization created in 1946 to control the rapid escalation of whaling. The original purpose of the IWC was to preserve whale stocks for commercial whalers. Whale populations, however, continued to decline, and in 1986 the IWC instituted a moratorium on ...

» Read more about International Whaling Commission (IWC) at Encyclopedia.com

whaling
The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition

whaling the hunting of whales for the oil that can be rendered from their flesh, for meat, and for baleen (whalebone). Historically, whale oil was economically the most important. Early Whaling Whaling for subsistence dates to prehistoric times. The early people of Korea were hunting whales ...

» Read more about whaling at Encyclopedia.com

International Fund for Animal Warfare
Stopwhaling.org

International Fund for Animal Warfare -- learn more from blogs, videos and press releases.

» Read more about International Fund for Animal Warfare at Stopwhaling.org

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