UN orders end of Japanese whaling in the Antarctic

The International Court of Justice has ruled that Japan’s Antarctic whaling programme is not for scientific purposes and has ordered a temporary halt.

Australia had sued Japan at the UN dispute resolution court in the hope of ending whaling in the Southern Ocean.

Reading a judgment by the court’s 16-judge panel, presiding judge Peter Tomka, of Slovakia, said Japan has not justified the large number of minke whales it takes under its programme, while failing to meet much smaller targets for fin and humpback whales.