The War on Whales Escalates

When it comes to defending the gentle giants of the ocean, Whale Wars is more than just a catchy name for a TV show; the battles are real, complete with weapons, casualties, hostages, and intrigue. And it's about to get worse.

Theoretically, whaling has been banned by the International Whaling Commission for 28 years, but a loophole allows countries like Japan — who is responsible over 1,000 whale deaths every year — to keep killing whales for "research." Whatever parts of the whales aren't used in the "research," such as meat, can be sold for consumption. How convenient.

The battles between Japanese whalers and the activists trying to stop them have been growing in intensity. As documented on Animal Planet's Whale Wars, the heroic (or crazy, depending on who you ask) Sea Shepherd Conservation Society pursues Japanese whaling ships through the Arctic Ocean, dogging them, exposing the shadiness of their operations, and generally doing whatever they can to get in the way so the ships can't take any more whales.

Sometimes that means literally getting in the way, which resulted in two of their boats — the Ady Gil and the Bob Barker — getting rammed already this year. (Australia and New Zealand, the countries closest to the action, have said they are investigating these incidents.) The Sea Shepherd crew has also been blasted with high pressure water cannons, targeted with military grade high frequency sound wave weaponry, and shot with pepper spray.

Last week, the pepper spray backfired on the whalers. A few days later, Peter Bethune, captain of the sunken Ady Gil, snuck aboard one of the Japanese ships to make a citizen's arrest for violation of international treaties. He's been taken prisoner to be tried by Japanese courts.

According to Sea Shepherd, a former Japanese whaling commissioner said that Japan shouldn't retreat from whaling in Antarctica because it would be letting the activists win. Captain Paul Watson responded: "If it's now all about saving face now that they've already lost, then they should retreat while they still have half a face left."

Last Friday, Australia's prime minister threatened international legal action if Japan doesn't stop its whaling operations. Whales were expected to be a big part of the agenda during a meeting this weekend between Australian and Japanese Foreign Ministers.

But, also on Friday, the Telegraph reported that secret talks are planned for next month in Florida that could result in a deal allowing Japan to shed the "research" cover and start whaling commercially again. Apparently, world governments are hoping that lifting the moratorium would restore order to the current anarchy on the seas and inspire whaling countries to scale back their hunts.

Why would they? Whaling is so profitable that there's never been much of an incentive for countries to enforce anti-whaling laws. If they aren't willing or able to crack down on a ban, what are the odds that they would police sanctioned whaling?

The Sea Shepherd crew has successfully stalled Japan's whaling operations for the past couple of weeks. There are three weeks left in the whaling season, and Captain Watson and his crew are fully fueled to keep up the chase. You can do your part by letting the International Whaling Commission and President Obama know that you oppose lifting the ban on commercial whale hunts.

Photo credit: guano