TOKYO, Oct. 31 - Japan's Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has revealed he dislikes whale meat, a newspaper reported Saturday, in an unusual confession for the prime minister of a country that defies Western criticism of whaling:
"I hate whale meat," Hatoyama said during a meeting with his visiting Dutch counterpart Jan Peter Balkenende on Monday at the prime minister's office, the Sankei Shimbun reported.
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International Pressure forces
Japan to abandon humpback whale hunt:
Japan has announced that it no longer plans to hunt 50 humpback
whales during its current annual whale hunt in the protected
waters of the Southern Ocean Sanctuary off Antarctica. However,
as of January 10, 2008, it had already killed 50 minke whales
as part of its total self-allocated catch quota of 935 minke
whales and 50 endangered fin whales. International condemnation
of Japan’s hunt has been great. On January 8, 2008, the
Australian government dispatched the icebreaker The Oceanic
Viking, to observe and document Japan’s whale hunting
activities in an effort to gather evidence for possible legal
action against Japan. Japan’s whaling fleet left Shimonoseki
port in November 2007 and is expected to return in early spring.
Lord Ashcroft, KCMG (aged
61) has been an entrepreneur working in businesses in the UK,
US, Caribbean and Central America.
He is currently the Chairman of BB Holdings OneSource Inc and
an active investor in new companies and ideas.
He also supports a wide range of charities, internationally.
He set up Michael
A Ashcroft Foundation in September 2000 in Belize to fund
charitable projects in the Caribbean and Central America which
may not otherwise have had the opportunity to develop.
Lord Ashcroft has worked with EIA previously on other environmental
projects and as he is an avid whale-watcher was happy to support
their efforts to back an advertising campaign aimed at the
six Caribbean countries to withdraw their support for whaling
(see
press release)
Lord Ashcroft states:
“I
do not profess to be a conservationist nor an environmentalist.
Other than the minor exception of aboriginal subsistence whaling
in small countries, I believe there is no justification on
either scientific or commercial grounds for the killing of
what I regard as some of the world’s most beautiful creatures.”
Lord Ashcroft has funded this website and the television advert
and campaign.
Do you believe these magnificent creatures which have inhabited
our beautiful Earth for millions of years should be spared
from further commercial hunting?
If you would like to help protect whales, we invite you to
explore this website and take action to save these gentle creatures.
Just before the opening session of the 60th annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission, held in June 2008, Dominica’s Prime Minister delivered the good news that it would not be represented at the IWC, thus ending its support for Japan’s whaling policies.
In doing so, Dominica has acted to preserve its reputation as the ‘Nature Isle’ of the Caribbean. This is great news for the whale watching companies and the people of Dominica. Read more about the government’s statement here. In March 2009, Dominica hosted the Ocean Life Symposium, where Dominica’s Prime Minster, the Honourable Roosevelt Skerrit, reaffirmed his country’s commitment to cetacean conservation and Dominica’s marine environment. Scuba Diving magazine readers also listed Dominica as the #1 country with the ‘Healthiest Marine Environment’ and #3 on the list of ‘Top Dive Destinations.’ With its resident population of Sperm whales, Dominica offers a fantastic opportunity to see these gentle giants up close. Read more about other whale watching opportunities in the Caribbean here.
Sadly, the governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines continued to voice their support for Japanese whaling activities at the latest annual International Whaling Commission meeting held in Madeira, Portugal. For more details on this meeting, click here.
Right now, Japanese catcher ships are poised to leave for another whaling season in the Antarctic Ocean Whale Sanctuary with minke and fin whales in their sights.
Help stop Japan’s whale slaughter. We must tell our government
leaders to support whale conservation not Japan’s
whale killing.
Visit the Take Action page for your country NOW and send a
strong message to your government.
This website and the whale ad is facilitated
by the non-profit Environmental Investigation Agency (www.eia-global.org).
We work to protect endangered species and the natural environment.
We investigate environmental crime around the world, working
with local NGOs, policy makers, government departments and
enforcement authorities working co-operatively for achievable
and constructive solutions.
The
website and ad are supported by Lord Ashcroft KCMG. Click
here to visit the website of the Michael A Ashcroft Foundation.
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“I
do not profess to be a conservationist nor an environmentalist.
Other than the minor exception of aboriginal subsistence whaling
in small countries, I believe there is no justification on
either scientific or commercial grounds for the killing of
what I regard as some of the world’s most beautiful creatures.”
