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Fishermen slaughter a 10m-long bottlenose whale at the Wada port in Minami-Boso city, Chiba prefecture, east of Tokyo

Japan to Resume Antarctic Ocean Whaling Despite Court Ruling

© AFP 2018 / YOSHIKAZU TSUNO

10:29 28.11.2015(updated 10:34 28.11.2015) Get short URL

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Japan will continue whaling in the Antarctic Ocean, despite last year’s court ruling ordering the country to halt this practice, media reported Saturday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to the ITV television channel, the country will resume whaling by late March 2016.

The Japanese Fisheries Agency notified the International Whaling Commission that it had decided to resume whaling in the 2015/2016 season under a plan which it believes to be reasonable. The plan envisages cutting whale catches to 333, decreasing the number by two thirds, the channel reported.

Anti-whaling militants protest on June 21, 2010 outside the venue of International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting in Agadir

© AFP 2018 / ABDELHAK SENNA

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The International Court of Justice ruled that Japan must halt its whale research program in the Antarctic Ocean last March. Japan obliged, skipping one hunting season, but later applied for permission to resume whaling in December 2015.

The International Whaling Commission banned commercial whaling in 1986. A 1987 agreement, however, allows for whales to be hunted and killed for scientific research purposes – a loophole Japan has been using for decades. The country’s actions have been criticized by environment protection activists worldwide as the meat of the whales caught "for scientific purposes" ended up on the shelves of Japanese supermarkets.

Related:: Japan Cuts on Illegal ‘Scientific Whaling’

: Japan Seeks International Backing for ‘Scientific’ Whaling Despite UN Ban

: No Consensus Yet in Sight on Whaling as International Commission Continues Debates

: Japanese Whaling Ship Detained for Border Violation in Russia Released

Tags:

poaching, whaling, whales, Japanese Fisheries Agency, International Whaling Commission, Japan, Antarctic Ocean

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