Vegetarian Star

Japan has suspended whaling in the Antarctic until further notice due to the extensive actions performed by anti-whaling activists, Sea Shepherd.

Sea Shepherd sails the seas where whalers hunt and uses tactics such as throwing rancid butter on the whaling ships in an attempt to slow down and stop whaling. These protests are the basis for the popular Animal Planet show, Whale Wars.

The hunt was halted on February 10th, but this isn’t the first year Sea Shepherd has thwarted the performance of whalers.

In 2009, whalers returned with 679 minke whales and one fin whale, although their goal was to kill 935 minke whales and 50 fin whales.

The year before that, whalers planned to return with 850 minke whales and 50 fin whales. Activists actions reduced that number to 551 minke whales and no fin whales.

There is definitely a pattern forming.

Although whaling was banned in 1986, there is a loophole that allows whalers to get around it by saying they are catching the animals for research purposes. Critics say that whale meat obtained from the hunts is sold for human consumption, which is highly dangerous considering the amount of mercury the flesh contains. Mercury levels in whale samples have been found to exceed what’s considered acceptable by the Japanese Health Ministry.

Photo: PR Photos

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