January 2008 

Japan has recently resumed its whaling activities in the Pacific and Southern Oceans. I can assure you that I view this as a very troubling development and I deplore the hunting and slaughter of these endangered species. I know that these concerns are shared across the government, and I would like to take this opportunity to update you as to what we are doing on this issue.

Japan is, of course, a sovereign nation and despite our deep misgivings about Japan’s whaling activities, we cannot simply step in and force Japan to stop what it is doing. However I can assure you that we are taking all the steps we possibly can to make sure that the Japanese government knows of our concerns, and in conjunction with other nations we continue to pressure the Japanese government to cease its whaling activities.

The UK is deeply concerned at the latest Japanese proposals, which include plans to kill 50 Fin whales, which many non-governmental organisations consider to be endangered, along with 935 Minke whales for scientific research.

The UK has consistently voiced its opposition to Japanese ‘scientific’ whaling.  Like other International Whaling Commission (IWC) members, the UK does not believe that scientific research can justify the large-scale killing of whales. In our view, Japan’s research programmes are deeply flawed.

On 21 December 2007, the UK took part in a formal diplomatic protest to the Japanese government urging it to stop its lethal whaling programme in the Antarctic. A written statement was delivered to the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Japan’s Fisheries Agency on behalf of the UK, Australia and 28 other countries along with the European Commission.  It called on Japan to “cease all its lethal scientific research on whales, and assure the immediate return of the vessels which are implementing JARPA II (The Japanese Whaling Mission)”.  Lord Malloch-Brown, Minister for Foreign Affairs, put this issue directly to the Japanese Foreign Minister at their meeting in Tokyo on 17 January.

The UK is also concerned about the welfare issues involved in whaling.  We do not believe that it is possible to kill whales humanely in whaling operations and we play an active role in the IWC  to reduce the suffering involved in all whaling activities.  For example, at the 59th Meeting of the IWC held in May 2007 (IWC 59), the UK raised welfare issues at every appropriate opportunity.  The UK will continue to call on all countries participating in whaling to submit full data on welfare issues to the IWC and will remain a key advocate, ensuring that they remain a high priority in IWC proceedings.

The UK also plays a prominent role in building and maintaining the coalition of
anti-whaling countries within the IWC.  In advance of IWC 59, the UK and its
like-minded allies recruited a further six countries into the IWC, such that the pro-whaling majority in that organisation was overturned.  In a further response to UK lobbying efforts, several other countries have indicated willingness to support our opposition to Japanese whaling and to join the IWC in time for next year’s annual meeting.

UK overseas missions are currently delivering an updated version of the
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs paper “Protecting Whales – A Global Responsibility” to several governments.  This is part of a lobbying campaign to encourage more countries to join the IWC, to further strengthen the global opposition to commercial whaling.  More generally, our overseas missions in all relevant capitals engage in discussion with their counterparts on whaling at every appropriate opportunity.  The UK, together with its allies, lobbies the governments of the countries that vote with Japan at the International Whaling Convention to ensure that they are in no doubt as to the importance we attach to whale conservation.

The government believes that sanctuaries are an important component in a range of measures for the conservation of whales, affording them greater protection in highly important areas for breeding, feeding and migration.  We will continue to support and speak in favour of a South Atlantic Ocean Sanctuary.

Please be assured that this is an issue that I am deeply concerned about and will continue to follow it with interest.