‘Australia’s shocking evidence backs up legal bid’

AUSTRALIA has “shocking” photographic evidence to back an international legal bid to stop Japanese whaling in Antarctic waters, the government said yesterday.

One picture reportedly showing a mother whale and her calf being dragged aboard a Japanese whaler after being harpooned was described as sickening by Environment Minister Peter Garrett.

“It’s distressing when you think that it can take up to 15 minutes after a harpoon actually hits a whale for the whale to die. It’s even sadder when you consider there’s a calf involved,” he said.

A gaping wound visible on the minke whale calf’s side as it is hauled up a slipway into the boat was reportedly caused by an explosive-packed harpoon.

The picture was one of many taken from an Australian customs vessel tracking the whalers to build up evidence against the kill, and Customs Minister Bob Debus said the pile of “shocking images” would support legal action to stop the annual slaughter.

“They will help us to back up the Australian Government’s argument in an international court case, the details of which are still to be worked out, to suggest that whaling should be stopped,” Mr Debus told reporters.

Australia has taken a leading role in opposing Japan’s use of a loophole in an international moratorium on whaling to kill the giants of the oceans in the name of research. The meat is then sold in supermarkets and restaurants.

“To claim that this is in any way scientific is to continue the charade that surrounded this issue from day one,” said Mr Garrett.

“It is explicitly clear from these images that this is the indiscriminate killing of whales, where you have a whale and its calf killed in this way,” he said.

But Japan’s whaling body accused Australia of spreading “emotional propaganda” and said the whales were not a mother and calf.

“The government of Australia’s photographs and media reports have created dangerous emotional propaganda that could cause serious damage to the relationship between our two countries,” said Minoru Morimoto, director general of the govInstitute of Cetacean Research.