No More Whales Will Die This Season

The Death Star Returns To The Land Of The Rising Sun

Finally, the burnt-out hulk of the whale killing floating factory called the Nisshin Maru is limping out of the Antarctic treaty zone, the stench of rotten whale meat lingering in its wake. The whale-killing fleet is now slowly heading north to Japan. There will be no stopping in New Zealand for repairs. A stop there will result in legal issues that could tie the ship up for years and the whale meat onboard would be confiscated.

The whaling fleet has a long way to go to reach Tokyo. The crew will be
mourning the loss of one crewmember and remembering
the opposition by Sea Shepherd that left their decks reeking of rotten butter and awash with the blood of the whales caused by Sea Shepherd crew sealing the bloody flensing deck outlet drains. It is a ship that reeks of death, burnt flesh, gore, and blood. It looks and smells like the Death Star that it is.

Our message to the Japanese whalers: “We hope your damages are so severe you will not be back next year but if you are, we will be there waiting for you and we will not be as polite as we were this year,” said Captain Watson.

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Whaling fleets are equipped with sonar, helicopters and long-range explosive harpoons. The whale is killed by a 6ft long iron harpoon shot from a cannon. The harpoon head contains a time-fuse grenade which blows the whale's insides apart seconds after impact, though this does not usually kill it immediately.Observer

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Officials in Tokyo conceded that the premature end to the hunt was a blow to its so-called research activities in the Southern Ocean. "This is the first time in 20 years that we have had to cancel our research," Takahide Naruko of the fisheries agency told reporters. "We are very disappointed." Guardian