Guest essay by Eric Worrall

The Guardian reports that Japan this year killed more than 300 whales, for “research” purposes. Australia and New Zealand are criticised for not attempting to prevent whaling in the Australian whale sanctuary. But the whale slaughter has hardly raised a flicker of attention in Australia. Aussie green groups are obsessed with CO2.

According to The Guardian;

Japan admits to killing more than 300 whales in Southern Ocean … Four ships were sent to the Antarctic region over a period of 115 days from 1 December last year and killed 333 minke whales. … The Australian government in December described Japan’s decision to resume whaling over the summer as “deeply disappointing” and insisted it raised concerns at the highest level of the Japanese government. It had said it would consider sending a customs patrol vessel to the Southern Ocean and explore options for legal action. But the conservation group Sea Shepherd in February said the Japanese fleet had faced little or no scrutiny over the summer and Australia and New Zealand seemed unwilling to send a ship to intercept them. Sea Shepherd Australia’s managing director, Jeff Hansen, said: “Once again false promises from the Australian and New Zealand governments have resulted in whales being killed illegally in the Australian Whale Sanctuary. “The majority of Australians wanted the Australian government to send a vessel to oppose the slaughter. They did not.” The Australian Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson said the government had turned its back on Japan’s “sickening” illegal activity. “Not in 40 years has an Australian government done so little to prevent whaling on our watch and in our waters,” he said.

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/mar/25/japan-admits-to-killing-more-than-300-whales-in-southern-ocean

The Australian government recently provided a billion dollars for renewables startups, but Australia can’t or won’t provide a few million dollars, to outfit an official expedition to the Antarctic Ocean, to prevent thinly disguised commercial whale hunting in the Australian controlled whale “sanctuary”.

If greens focussed on real issues, like preventing the outrageous ongoing slaughter of these gentle giants, instead of frittering away their time and capital, trying to reduce emissions of a harmless trace gas, there might be a lot less whale blood in the world’s oceans.

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