As Japanese whalers head to Antarctica to conduct the largest slaughter of humpback whales in half a century, The Humane Society of the United States/Humane Society International call upon the U.S. government to impose the most severe trade sanctions available under American law.
Japan has publicly announced its determination to take 50 humpbacks, 935 minke whales and up to 50 fin whales in the hunt.
"With full government support and subsidies, Japan's rapacious whaling industry is scraping the moral bottom with this reckless plan of assault on the humpback whale, a vulnerable marine species and a favorite of whale watchers throughout the world," says Patricia Forkan, HSI president. "This gross violation of the worldwide moral and political consensus on whaling requires certification and the imposition of legal trade sanctions."
Under the Pelly Amendment to the Fisherman's Protective Act, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce can certify foreign nationals for undermining conservation agreements, and the U.S. president has the right to introduce trade sanctions.
Japan's gambit comes just months after its proposals to undermine the international moratorium on commercial whaling were soundly defeated at both the International Whaling Commission and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
"With the addition of humpbacks, Japan has chosen the true outlaw's path," says Forkan. "The situation is far worse than it was in 2000, the last time the U.S. certified Japan for engaging in lethal whaling under the guise of 'scientific research.' Japan has become a scofflaw nation, and we need both certification and sanctions from President Bush."
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