Japanese whale hunt at record low

According to reports from the Japanese fisheries agency, the spring slaughter of minke whales in the northwestern Pacific is at a record-low.

Japanese whalers killed 34 minke whales (17 males and 17 females) between April and June this year and are blaming bad weather for the low numbers caught.

Despite the fact that much of the whale meat is sold to consumers in Japan, the hunts are conducted in the name of “scientific research” in order to get around the international ban on commercial whaling, but the figures are the lowest since the scientific programme began in 2003.

Japan’s other whaling programme in the Southern Ocean also recorded record low catch numbers earlier in the year.