Posted on: Monday, July 30, 2001

Editorial
Japan's new excuse for whaling offensive

Japan has sunk to a new low in its latest effort to justify resumption of commercial whaling.

Whales eat too much and are taking food from humans, Japan says.

Huh?

These magnificent marine mammals are in their natural habitat in the ocean, with their own role in the ecosystem. It is we humans who have depleted the fisheries and are taking too much from the sea, not whales.

We've said it before. Japan has to step up and take its place beside the world's mature and responsible nations and care for the marine environment. This latest diatribe betrays a self-absorbed Japan that fails to see the global consensus around protecting one of the world's great resources.

There is a reason for the whaling ban. These marvelous creatures were on the brink of extinction. Some species have been rescued because of the near-total international moratorium on the hunting of whales. Humans need to do more to protect whales, not less.

The anti-whaling countries are expected to prevail this week and stop the efforts by Japan and a few other whaling nations such as Norway to end the moratorium, which covers 13 species of large whales. It's in everyone's interest that they do.