Australia has taken a tough stance against Japan's whale killing sprees.
Along with the continued efforts of Greenpeace, Australia sent out a ship to monitor and get evidence of the Japanese whaling fleet.
In a nutshell Greenpeace found the fleet off Western Australia and is disrupting their efforts.
Two men boarded a whaling ship with a written protest and the Japs have held the men, possible international ramifications here but the Autralian govt said they'd take the men and issue resolved, however the Japs want part of the deal to be that protestors piss off and let them kill the whales.
Sounds like blackmail to me.
Source:
Japan hopes Australia will end whale stand-off - World - theage.com.au Quote:
Australia dispatched the Oceanic Viking to Antarctic waters last week to monitor Japanese whaling and gather evidence for a possible international legal challenge to end the annual hunt, which is opposed by most Western nations.
Japan argues that whaling is part of its culture and accuses Western nations of cultural insensitivity. It hunts whales using a loophole in a global moratorium that allows "lethal research'' on the giant mammals.
Japan has said it is ready to hand the two men over but wants environmentalists to promise to stop harassing its whaling ships.
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Source:
Customs willing to pick up men held on whaling vessel - Whale watch - Specials
Also on this link look at the pics "whale war".
Quote:
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Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said today the Government may send a customs ship to pick up the two activists from the militant conservation group Sea Shepherd to end the standoff.
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For too long the world has sat back letting this going on, time to step it up I reckon, they come down here and kill the whales!
