Japan has recently launched a plan to kill 333 minke whales in the Southern Ocean next year. This announcement represents a part of its program to resume whaling, following a legal setback instigated by Australia. The plan establishes a 12-year program that would cause the slaughter of a total of 3,996 whales. In this way, the whales will be hunted in the Antarctic waters, including ocean claimed by Australia. Anti-whaling activists have tried for many times to impede this practice. Japan was compelled to suspend its annual whale hunt due to the ruling at the international court of justice in March. The case, brought by Australia and supported by New Zealand, has argued that the Japanese program was not scientific but was simply a facade for commercial whaling. However, the Japanese government has decide to launch a new whaling program in the Southern Ocean at the end of 2015, despite anon-binding vote at the International Whaling Commission meeting in September. In this contest, the Commission has solicited stricter limits upon Japan’s whaling activities. In relation to that, Greg Hunt, Australian environment minister, has reaffirmed the strong opposition of Australia to whaling, criticizing the behaviour of Japan. In addition to that, Patrick Ramage, the global whale program director for International Fund for Animal Welfare, has stressed that this plan should be opposed at the IWC scientific committee next year. In this framework, many experts have argued that the international community needs to intervene: it is time for Japan to end this unscientific killing of whales. The gLAWcal Team EPSEI project Tuesday, 18 November, 2014 (Source: The Guardian)