An international animal welfare group yesterday brought a landmark legal case accusing Japan's last commercial whaling company of killing more than 400 whales in an Australian whale sanctuary.
Humane Society International (HSI) told reporters the case against Kyodo Sepaku Kaisha was aimed at pushing the Australian government to adopt tough tactics to protect whales in its territorial waters near Antarctica.
Spokeswoman Nicola Beynon said public information released by Japan to the International Whaling Commission (IWC), detailing the geographic coordinates at which so-called "scientific" kills of minke whales took place, showed they were within the sanctuary.
If its application in Australia's Federal Court succeeded, she said, HSI would seek an injunction in the hope of getting Canberra to protect whales in its Antarctic territory more forcefully.
"It is very clear that it is a breach of Australian law," Beynon told reporters.
Since the sanctuary was established in 2000, nearly a quarter of all whales killed under Japan's Antarctic research program were caught in Australia's whale sanctuary, HSI said.
HSI campaign director Michael Kennedy said the chances of victory were very good.
"Lawyers assure that the law is black and white in this regard and we have a very good chance of achieving our injunction," Kennedy said.
The company, which is run from Japan, could not be contacted for comment.
However, an official at the Japanese embassy called the case "funny" and said Japan's whalers complied with international law.
"Why hasn't the Australian government noticed that and why has it not indicated some kind of protest?" the official said.
Despite the vast size and problems of policing Australia's enormous Antarctic possessions, Canberra in recent years has taken aggressive action against illegal fishing there.
A series of mainly South American fisherman have been hauled back to Australia with their ships and prosecuted after they were caught fishing near southern Heard Island, and HSI said it hoped to see similar action against whalers.
"That is the sort of action we would like to see when it comes to whaling," Beynon said.
The case, which has taken three years to prepare, was adjourned until Nov. 9. Australia's Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act created the sanctuary in 2000.
The organization said it hoped the case would embarrass the whaling company and the Japanese government.
Kyodo Sepaku Kaisha has long been a target of environmental activists but the case involves some thorny issues of international law.
The International Whaling Commission imposed a moratorium on commercial whaling in 1986. Japan still kills whales under the guise of scientific research, although whale meat still ends up on Japanese supermarket shelves.
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