Japan kills 122 pregnant whales for research
A dead minke whale is unloaded in Kushiro, on the Japanese island of Hokkaido. / Yonhap
By Kang Aa-young, Jung Min-ho
More than 120 pregnant whales were killed during Japan's “science research” hunt in the Southern Ocean last summer, a recent report suggests.
Minke whales, 333 in total, were caught during the country's annual scientific whaling program. Among them, 122 were pregnant and 114 were immature, according to documents from a meeting of the International Whaling Commission's scientific committee.
Japanese fishers butcher a whale. / Yonhap
According to the report, researchers used the slaughtered whales to collect data on their blubber and internal organs. This involved shooting the whales with grenade-tipped harpoons and cutting them apart.
Japan's fisheries agency said it did not do anything wrong because it did not violate the rules of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling.
But critics say Japan, which has signed the commission's moratorium on whale hunting, constantly exploits a loophole by saying its hunt is for scientific research.