Japan kills more than 200 pregnant whales

Japan has recaptured Minke whaling for controversial reasons for " scientific purposes " and killed 333 individuals, including more than 200 pregnant women.

Whales that take ashore will be shipped to the markets after taking organs for research.(Photo: Newsy)

According to the Japan Institute of Marine Mammal Studies, the event is part of the annual Antarctic whale hunt program.

On March 23, 4 ships returned after a 115-day journey to hunt whales for scientific research. The hunt is normal, despite the ban issued by the International Court in 2014, according to National Geographic.

The International Whaling Commission has banned all commercial whaling activities since 1986, but still allows exceptions for scientific research . Japan has long been accused by the international community of using this exception as a cover for commercial whaling.

According to Leah Gerber, a marine mammal biologist, when the Japanese ship brought a whale ashore, they conducted several scientific activities such as collecting internal organs for research. But the rest of the whale's body will be transported to the market and sold for consumption.

Following the International Court's ban, Japan halted hunting for whales for a short time, then began hunting again in 2015-2016. The authorities revised to program science. more and lower the target number to 2/3.

The paper cut figure looks good, but doesn't make a real difference, according to Astrid Fuchs, whale program manager for nonprofit Whale and Dolphin Conservation. Previously, Japan killed about 200-400 Minke Antarctic whales every year. The number of 333 individuals this year does not show change.

Part of Japan's plan is aimed at female whales . Japanese authorities reasoned they had to catch juvenile and adult whales to determine the age of Minke whales ready to mate. Japan wants to use the data collected to show that the Minke whale population is strong enough for annual hunting. Since this time falls into the south sea breeding season, 90% of the female whales are pregnant.

This year's journey is part of a 12-year plan aimed at killing nearly 4,000 whales in the Antarctic Sea. The researchers have not categorized the conservation category for the Minke Antarctic whale, but some analysis shows that the number of species declined by 60% between 1978 and 1991 and 1991-2004, enough to rank them in danger.

Japanese consumers do not particularly like to eat whale meat. According to Wired, whale meat prevailed in this island shortly after World War II. Today, the consumption of whale meat is 4,000 - 5,000 tons / year, a relatively small number compared to 600 million tons of seafood that Japanese people consume every year.

According to Keiko Hirata, a political scientist at the University of California, Northridge, the United States and Japan continue to hunt whales for two reasons. First, unlike many countries in the world, Japanese people do not view whales as a mammal that needs to protect human consumption .

" The majority of Japanese people have no special affection for whales and disagree with Western animal defenders who often emphasize whale interests ," Hirata wrote.

The second reason the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries does not focus on monitoring whale hunting activities due to the low pressure of ending the program in the country.