A great day for whales no April Fool's joke
Auckland, 1 April 2014 – In response to the International Court of Justice ruling today that the Japanese whaling
programme is not scientific [1] Karli Thomas, Greenpeace New Zealand Oceans Campaigner said:
"This is a great day for whales and everyone who has campaigned against whaling.
“We welcome this outcome which vindicates our view that whaling in the South Ocean is not necessary for science and
should be ended. We urge Japan to abide by this decision, scrap the factory ship Nisshin Maru and not attempt to
continue whaling by amending the program and claiming it is now scientific.
"We call on Japan to join international programs underway in the Antarctic to study whales and the environment in order
to contribute to recovery from whaling and other threats and to give its support in other international treaties to
create a network of ocean sanctuaries in the Southern Ocean, protecting all components of the ecosystem, starting with
the Ross Sea and other areas.
Greenpeace will continue to monitor Japan’s so-called scientific whaling to ensure that they do not find any more
loopholes to hunt whales."
Ends