Peter Whish-Wilson: National Whaling Day: Time to end whaling for good

Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, Greens spokesperson on whaling calls on the Australian government to ramp up the diplomatic pressure on Japan to end whaling for good and to commit funding for blue whale research.

Senator Whish-Wilson said, “The Australian Government has been disturbingly silent on Japan’s plan to restart whaling in the Southern Ocean.

“I call upon the Australian Government to use National Whale Day to send a public message to Japan that we will not accept a return of the harpoons to the Southern Ocean.

“We need to be researching whale ecology but that shouldn’t ever involve the brutal slaughter of these majestic creatures.

“The Australian Government needs to immediately release the funds it is withholding for Blue Whale research so that the annual expedition can be held.

“If the government doesn’t commit the funds soon, this summer will be the first time in years that there won’t be an Australian marine mammal Antarctic research expedition.

“Many of the worlds leading scientists, based in Tasmania, are anxiously awaiting news around our governments commitment to this critical whale research program, and logistics teams need certainty now to begin preparations over winter.

“Our long-standing efforts in non-lethal whale research provided the scientific basis for our legal case that put a halt on Japanese whaling. We need to boost our efforts in research in order to fight the return of whaling”, Senator Whish-Wilson concluded.
Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, Greens spokesperson on whaling