In a case brought by Australia the International Court of Justice ruled what the world has known for decades, that Japan's whaling wasn't for scientific purposes, it was thinly disguised commercial whaling.
Japan Halts Whaling Program in Response to International Court Ruling
Japan's program to take minke, fin, and humpback whales in the Southern Ocean is not based on sound science, says court.
By Jane J. Lee
Japan had long claimed that its program to take minke, fin, and humpback whales in the Southern Ocean was aimed at collecting scientific data.
But the International Court of Justice (ICJ), headquartered at the Hague in the Netherlands, found that the program was not scientific in nature and that it could be considered commercial whaling.
"It's a huge victory," Leigh Henry, senior policy advisor for wildlife conservation at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), said of Monday’s ruling, which goes into effect immediately. "We've been fighting this battle for over three decades with little results."
"Essentially, [Japan] was exploiting this loophole" in the whaling ban, Henry said.
Japan unlike the US abides by the International Court of Justice's rulings. The vast Southern Ocean encircles the planet. Recently we got a glimpse of its expanses in the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.
Antarctic Minke Whale