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David @ Tokyo

Perspective from Japan on whaling and whale meat, a spot of gourmet news, and monthly updates of whale meat stockpile statistics

1/10/2007

 

JARPA II 2006/2007 Update #9 - Ian Campbell attacks SSCS

Ian Campbell's on/off love affair with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society was on display once again in the media today, with Senator Campbell, who Sea Shepherd last month described as "honourable", now declaring that:
"Sea Shepherd are bringing the cause of whale conservation into disrepute.''
Presumably Campbell has realised that it was politically unwise to call Paul Watson and wish him well, particularly since in other parts of the world such as the United Kingdom and Belize, officials there were seeing it fit to strike the Sea Shepherd terrorist vessel (what else is a vessel with a "can opener" ramming implement attached to it?) from their registers.

Despite today's clarification, I wonder if Campbell would still welcome Sea Shepherd vessels to Australia's Antarctic bases in anything other than an emergency?

Stupidly, however:
Senator Campbell praised the more peaceful efforts of Greenpeace in recording the "gutless'' whale slaughter and using small vessels to disrupt the hunt, saying the group's efforts had his blessing.
Campbell would do well to stick to his own policies, rather than snuggle up to Greenpeace or Sea Shepherd. Greenpeace's tactics are possibly going to end up on the wrong side of the new IMO guidelines, as well as Sea Shepherd's more overtly unacceptable behaviour.

Anyway, we can again await Watson's reaction, remembering his rather upset tone from last season.

* * *

The ICR has another press release out today, this time on public opinion polls. They've too have picked up on the fact that Greenpeace Japan misrepresented the results of an opinion survey that they themselves commissioned. I previously detailed the misrepresentation here, based on a Japanese version of the poll result, but the ICR has helpfully found an English translation (here for those who care to take a look).

The ICR also states that:
"Whalemeat is a popular meal choice by the Japanese public despite a drastic decrease in supply and, contrary to claims by Greenpeace, demand is increasing each year."
This basic trend is of course what we've been observing through stockpile figure analyses (November figures should be out any day now, maybe on the 12th)

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Comments:
""We're not down here to protest, we're down here as a policing operation against illegal activity,'' he said from the Farley Mowat. "

It never ceases to amaze me how Tubby Watson is never called on his bogus claims of illegality.
 
Hi,

What amazes the most is that the media continue quoting Watson saying he is down there to put international law into force although SCSS has had its observer status at the IWC cancelled and no international body has never entrusted him with this.

It certainly would a good idea for anti-whaling nations to recognize publicly that Japanese scientific whaling is legal.

Maybe the media are hoping for some tragedy to occur in the Southern Ocean, so that they can sell write sensational stuff...and make profit.
 
Hi! Isanatori-san,

>Maybe the media are hoping for >some tragedy to occur in the >Southern Ocean

The media is as same as GP&SS.
The profit is for the media.
The donations are for the crazy NGOs.

The Japanese whalers are the food
for them.

Sad enough.

Y/H(Japan)
 
The Australian / New Zealand media certainly never pull Watson (SSCS) on their "illegal" whaling claims, and this is surprising.

Ian Campbell and Geoff Palmer New Zealand both conceeded in 2006 that Japan's whaling was essentially legal, although they framed it differently, saying legal action "is not likely to be successful". That's because it's legal, obviously :-)

I wrote a letter to a South African newspaper about it several months ago in response to a SS extremist (here) and even anti-whaling campaigner Nan Rice noted the same thing (here).

Hopefully if it is said enough times, the antipodean media will start to pay closer attention, and hold their politicians to account for their hypocrisy. But then, whaling isn't really a serious issue effecting those nations (in real terms, emotionally it's another story).
 
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