Japanese whalers unwelcome: N.Z. premier says

[Barrett808]

Source: Associated Press

SYDNEY, Nov. 19 (Kyodo) - New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark has lashed out at Japan's whaling program, saying Monday its whaling fleet should have stayed home rather than operate under the "deceptive" guise of a scientific operation.

Japan's annual whaling season has just begun, with a fleet of four vessels, including the mother ship Nisshin Maru, leaving Shimonoseki on Sunday for the Southern Ocean.

Media coverage of the departure has been widespread in New Zealand and Australia, both staunch anti-whaling nations, and has sparked renewed protests against the hunt.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said Monday his government was "deeply disappointed" by the departure and had instructed its ambassador in Tokyo to lodge an official complaint.

Scientific whaling a deception: NZ
November 19, 2007

NEW Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark says Japan's whaling fleet is heading for the Southern Ocean under the "deception" of a scientific expedition.

The fleet left for Antarctic waters yesterday, led by the 8000-tonne Nisshin Maru, trailed by environmentalists for a hunt that will include humpback whales for the first time since a 1963 moratorium put the giant marine mammals under international protection.

Clark said today she hoped there would not be a repeat of the “very unfortunate incidents” which occurred last season when protesters clashed with the fleet.

She also referred to the fire that crippled the Nisshin Maru and killed a crew member last year.

“Last year there was loss of life down there, it's very difficult for us, as the nearest country with any sort of search and rescue capacity, to offer any help,” she said on TV One's Breakfast program. “It would just be better if the Japanese stayed home and didn't come down under the guise, the deception, the claim that it is scientific whaling when they want to take a thousand whales.”

(more)

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22781966-601,00.html

Read more: http://article.wn.com/view/2007/11/19/Japanese_whalers_unwelcome_NZ_premier_says_6

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[SpikeTss]

1. I love New Zealand

And this is only one reason, why.
When something isn't right, they say it and they act accordingly.

[donsu]

2. thank you New Zealand - I love them too - great women writers of novels

nt

[closeupready]

3. Go Greenpeace!

:)

[BrklynLiberal]

4. I'm surprised we have not heard fro Sea Shepherd yet...

This whale hunt is a disgrace. It is pretty well known that this "scientific" hunt will be selling all the whale meat to consumers in Japan where it is considered a delicacy.

What a horrendous act this whale hunt is..

[Barrett808]

6. Sea Shepherd's Operation Migaloo:

Announcement:
Sea Shepherd Launches Operation Migaloo to
Defend Whales in Antarctic Whale Sanctuary
September 20, 2007

This December, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society will embark on its fourth expedition to the remote southern waters off the coast of Antarctica, with the launch of its latest Antarctic whale defense campaign: Operation Migaloo. Sea Shepherd has drawn a line in the sand when it comes to the humpback whale featured on its logo and will not stand by while the Japanese whalers target nearly 1000 whales for certain death, including 50 endangered humpback whales and 10 endangered fin whales in the Southern Oceans.

The campaign is named in honor of Migaloo, an endangered albino humpback who has become a national icon in Australia. This year, the sights of the ruthless Japanese harpooners are set square on the endangered humpbacks, meaning that Migaloo and all of his family are under imminent threat of death at the hands of Japanese pirate whalers.

Founder and President of Sea Shepherd, Captain Paul Watson, will soon embark with an international crew on the ship, the Robert Hunter, to enforce international conservation law and prevent the illegal slaughter of endangered species by an outlaw whaling fleet. As the relentless Japanese whalers seek to hunt down and kill Migaloo and his family, Sea Shepherd will be hunting the whalers with the firm objective of intervention against their illegal activities.

"I did not establish the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society as a protest organization," said Captain Watson. "I have not gone to sea over all these years to simply bear witness to the atrocities that whalers continue to inflict upon the most gentle and intelligent beings in the seas. We are sea cops-operating legally under the guidelines of the United Nation's World Charter for Nature, which allow for the enforcement of international conservation law by non-governmental organizations in international jurisdictions."

For more than three decades, Sea Shepherd has been at the forefront of the whale wars, defending the gentle giants wherever and whenever they can. Sea Shepherd has tackled overwhelming odds with insufficient resources, won many victories, and saved the lives of thousands of whales. In 2005-2006, Sea Shepherd harried the Japanese fleet enough to ensure they went home 83 whales short of their self-appointed quota. In 2006-2007, the Japanese whalers fell over 500 whales short of their illegal quota. Sea Shepherd will return this year with a ship to match the speed of the Japanese fleet, new equipment for intervention, and an international crew of dedicated volunteers willing to spend their holidays at the bottom of the earth on a historic voyage to save whales.

Sea Shepherd is on a quest to protect the greatest treasure of the seas-the great whales. "We are obsessed with stopping the Cetacean Death Star, that viciously cruel killing machine otherwise known as the Nisshin Maru, and her ruthless fleet of hunter/killer boats armed with their explosive deadly blunt harpoons," said Captain Watson. "Because if we kill the whales, the sharks, the seals, and the sea turtles, we will destroy the very foundation of life in the oceans-and in so doing, we will destroy humankind."

http://seashepherd.org/migaloo

[BrklynLiberal]

7. Thank you. I KNEW they would be there for this..

[Acadia Blue]

5. This is a crime. A crime. A crime. I wish Karma was instant.

[xchrom]

8. donated and recommend.

[nightrider767]

9. Go Whales!!!

Run lads, run...

Let the "guiding hand" lead them afar from the fisherman's barbed hooks....

[Judi Lynn]

10. Thank you for posting these stories. We need to see an end to these slaughters. Now. n/t