Monday, March 31st was a good day for whales, as the International Court of Justice ruled for Australia in the case it had brought against Japan regarding special permit catches of Antarctic whales. The decision, which Japan has said it will adhere to, means an end to the Japanese ‘scientific whaling’ program in the Antarctic, known as JARPA II, which has killed more than 3,600 whales. In the decision, the majority of justices argued that the killing of whales in this program was not for the purposes of scientific research, agreeing with many independent observers that this was, in reality, a thinly disguised commercial harvest. You can read the decision here.
This is an important decision which, understandably, has generated a lot of media interest. Science has a good piece on the decision here and you can read (and listen) to Andy’s interview about it on NPR’s Environmental News Magazine, Living on Earth. And our good friend Carl Safina also has a nice piece on his CNN blog.
