re: Whale Wars

quote:

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In 1946, the International Whaling Convention (IWC) was established to oversee the management of the whaling industry worldwide. It was established in response to the rapid decline in the population of whales from whaling. In 1986, the IWC instituted an indefinite ban on commercial whale. This ban is still in effect, with certain exceptions. Countries such as Japan and Norway have not honored the ban.

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And to add to that, the Japanese vessels are technically not commercial whaling. They are collecting research samples. The collection of these samples kills the whales. So they make a profit off of the rest of the whale.

ETA: It might just be an excuse for whaling but it's not illegal.