After 40 organizations from 15 countries, requested Latin American governments to implement a demarche against Japan’s so-called ‘scientific whaling’ two weeks ago, the socialist Chilean senator Jaime Naranjo recently affirmed that “Chilean authorities must respond immediately – with strength and determination – to seek the end of the continued violation of the international moratorium on whaling.”

Senator Naranjo added, “Once again, Japan is violating various international agreements that prohibit the capture and killing of whales.”

Since 1986, when a moratorium on commercial whaling was implemented, Japan has killed over 8,000 whales under the disguise of ‘scientific whaling’.

On November 18, a Japanese whaling fleet composed of the Nisshin Maru factory ship and the vessels Shonan Maru and Yushin Maru 2 and 3, left their home ports towards the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary in order to kill nearly 1,000 whales under alleged scientific purposes.

In this regard, Naranjo affirmed that the international community strongly opposes the constant use of the ‘scientific whaling’ argument to get away with the murder of thousands of whales each year, noting that “Japan’s scientific whaling program suspiciously began at the same time that the International Whaling Commission (IWC) implemented the global moratorium on commercial whaling.”

Elsa Cabrera, executive director of the Chilean NGO Cetacean Conservation, said that “the statements of Senator Naranjo reflect Chile’s strong commitment towards the protection and non-lethal use of cetaceans and his words reinforce the urgent need for the Chilean government to conduct diplomatic actions against Japan’s so-called ‘scientific whaling’”.

Naranjo concluded affirming that “Our government must do everything in its power to prevent the actions of the whaling fleet that recently set sail from Japan”.

Source: Centro de Conservacion Cetacea