WARNING: Dramatic Whaling Footage

The footage was shot by Australian Customs personnel in 2008 but has only now been publicly released, following a long Freedom of Information fight that began in 2012.

The Australian Government was concerned that its release would harm diplomatic relations with Japan.

Sea Shepherd’s managing director Jeff Hansen has described the vision as “harrowing”.

“You see minke whales swimming at 16, 17 knots to try and outrun these harpoon ships, before being hit with an explosive harpoon that sends shrapnel through their bodies,” he said

“Hooks come out, and they dive deep, you can see see them diving to try and get away from this cable which they’re attached to and they’re slowly dragged back to the surface, before they’re met with the gunner on the harpoon ship who then shoots them.

Long legal fight to see footage

The footage dates from when officers on the Customs vessel Oceanic Viking filmed Japan’s whaling fleet off the Antarctic coast in 2008.

Some footage had been available appearing to show one kill, but Sea Shepherd wanted more and has taken possession of nearly three hours of vision.

The legal campaign to have it released goes back to 2012, when the NSW Environmental Defender’s Office lodged an urgent Freedom of Information application on behalf of Humane Society International.

Sea Shepherd later joined the action.

Jeff Hansen said the video evidence was used for the case Australia brought before the International Court of Justice.

“Initially we were told that we were refused the footage because there was a pending court case,” he said.

“Then once that court case had been settled, and Japan’s whaling was found to be illegal, then the reason came out was diplomatic relations.

The chief executive of the NSW Environmental Defender’s Office, David Morris, said Australia’s position on whaling was well known.

“We put forward substantial evidence to the Information Commissioner that the information already in the public domain showed that there wouldn’t be the kind of impact on international relations that they were suggesting,” he said.

“For example, Australia had taken the Japanese government to the International Court of Justice on this very issue, and so it was unlikely that this information would cause problems between the two governments of the kind that would justify an exemption.”

Even though the Information Commissioner ruled in May that the release of the footage would not affect international relations, Mr Hansen said what was initially handed over was of “poor quality” and without audio and further approaches had to be made.

Japan’s ‘two enemies’

Mr Hansen said he expected the release of the footage would lead to greater public support for campaigns to end whaling.

But he has defended Sea Shepherd’s decision to end direct action against whaling vessels in the Southern Ocean.

“At the recent International Whaling Commission meeting, Japan stated that they have two enemies in this world — China and Sea Shepherd — and so they devised the program purely aimed at beating us,” Mr Hansen said.

“They’ve doubled their killing area and lowered their quota down to 333, meaning that even at our best years down there, sending all of our fleet we would struggle to save any whales.

“If we go down there and spend all of our money and resources and don’t save any whales, that comes at the expense of so many other vital campaigns that we’re doing elsewhere.”



Mr Hansen has called for stronger political pressure for Japan to be taken to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.

Japanese people ‘oblivious’ to whaling

Labor Environment spokesman Tony Burke said the footage released today was distressing and deeply troubling, and criticised Japan for continuing to defy the International Court of Justice (ICJ) judgment in 2014 that found the country’s scientific whaling program to be illegal.

The criticism was echoed by Greens Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, who said the footage needed to be shown in Japan to raise awareness of the brutal reality of whaling.

“I spent time in Japan recently, meeting with politicians and activists, and what is clear to me is that the Japanese public at large are oblivious to these activities,” he said.

“Malcolm Turnbull needs to get a copy of this tape, stick it in a diplomatic bag and send it to the Prime Minister of Japan.”

Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg defended the Government’s fight against whaling and said it would continue pressuring Japan to comply with its international obligations.

“At the last International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting Australia moved two successful motions to increase the international scrutiny of ‘scientific’ whaling and another to improve the transparency and accountability of the IWC,” he said.

“The Government is considering all avenues to achieve Japan’s compliance with the ICJ’s judgment and the Whaling Convention.”

Source: ABC News