Japan whaling illegal, court says

[eppur_se_muova]

Source: BBC

An Australian court has ruled that the activities of the Japanese whaling fleet are illegal and ordered it to halt its operations.

The Federal Court said Japan had broken domestic law by killing whales in Australian waters off Antarctica.

It is not clear what effect the ruling will have, as Japan does not recognise Australia's Antarctic claim.

But it is likely to raise tensions between the two nations, which are far apart on the issue of whaling.

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7188674.stm

[LiberalFighter]

1. Give them a warning. If they continue to hunt whales in Australian waters

they will be torpedoed.

[Tyler Durden]

4. Where do we donate?

I'm sick of these punks pulling their "I can do whatever I want because I'm JAPAN and I'm so polite about it" bullshit.

I don't want apologies from these assholes: I want new artificial REEFS at the bottom of the sea.

[Barrett808]

5. Donation pages:

Greenpeace
http://secure.greenpeace.org/visitor/index.php?event_id=main

Sea Shepherd
http://seashepherd.org/donate.html

[Tyler Durden]

6. Oh I know those and use them....

I wanted to send a special donation to the Australian Navy to help defray the cost of the torpedoes.

They're kinda pricey, y'know.

[Thothmes]

7. I do not think

that the Australians are willing to kill sailors to save whales.

[RuleOfNah]

2. "Japan does not recognise Australia's Antarctic claim"

Are there serious tensions between the two countries?

[Barrett808]

3. Japan rejects whaling ruling

The Japanese Government has rejected an Australian Federal Court ruling that Japanese whaling in the Southern Ocean is illegal under Australian law.

However, an international law expert says Japanese whaling could be halted within a month.

The court yesterday upheld a complaint by the Humane Society International, and ordered the Japanese whaling company, Kyodo Senpaku Kaisha, be restrained from killing, injuring, taking or interfering with whales in the Australian Whale Sanctuary in Antarctica.

A spokesman for Japan's Fisheries Agency has dismissed the ruling.

He says the international treaty governing the waters around Antarctica does not specify which country controls the region, and the decision will not have any effect on Japan's so-called scientific whaling.

Japan does not recognise Australian sovereignty in Antarctica.

An international law expert from the Australian National University, Donald Rothwell, says only a handful of countries recognise Australia's claim to the waters.

But Dr Rothwell says the Australian Government has a number of options.

"There are very credible legal arguments that Japan's scientific whaling is, in fact, contrary to the whaling convention and a number of other relevant international conventions," he said.

"Indeed it could be anticipated that provisional measures could be sought from those courts, which could stop Japan's whaling actions in as little as four to six weeks."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/01/16/2139269.htm?section=justin

[Vincardog]

8. Tell them if they bring their ships into any Australian port they will be seized and sold fr damages