Donate to our Whale Legal Fund

Australian Federal Court orders stop to Japanese whale hunt

Humane Society International (HSI) has secured a historic decision from the Australian Federal Court which could save hundreds of whales from the Japanese harpoon. The Federal Court has confirmed that the Japanese whaling company is in breach of Australian law when it kills whales in the Australian Whale Sanctuary and has ordered that the hunt be stopped.

The Japanese whaling company Kyodo Senpaku Kaisha has a permit from the Japanese government to kill 935 minke whales and 50 fin whales in Antarctica this summer. Based on records of previous hunts, approximately 90% of these whales will be killed in the Australian Whale Sanctuary.

The decision from the Federal Court is historic in that it is the first time the Japanese whalers have been taken to court and it confirms that the hunt is illegal. HSI has served the order that the hunt be stopped at the company’s headquarters in Tokyo and we have called on them to abandon the hunt immediately.

The Rudd government has supported HSI’s case against the Japanese whalers in contrast to the previous government who opposed it.

HSI has called on the Rudd government to live up their pre-election commitment to enforce the Federal Court injunction against the whalers so that no more whales are killed in the Australian Whale Sanctuary.

Background to the Case

HSI has been at the forefront of massive media, legal and consumer campaigns to bring an end to Japanese whaling in Antarctica.

In November 2004 HSI commenced Federal Court action against the Japanese whaling company Kyodo Senpaku Kaisha Ltd for routinely slaughtering whales in Australia’s Whale Sanctuary in breach of Australian law.

The Australian Whale Sanctuary was proclaimed in 2000 under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act 1999, and includes the waters within Australia's 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone adjacent to the Australian Antarctic Territory. Since July 2000 hunting whales in the Australian Whale Sanctuary has been an offence attracting heavy penalties. Yet, between 2000 and 2006, HSI estimates that Kyodo Senpaku Kaisha has killed in excess of 1300 whales within the Australian Whale Sanctuary in breach of Australian law.

The Japanese Government issues permits to Kyodo Senpaku Kaisha to hunt whales as part of the Japanese Whale Research Program in Antarctica (JARPA). A research program everyone knows is a flimsy excuse to get around the International Whaling Commission ban on commercial whaling in place since 1986. In 2005 Japan announced JARPA II which more than doubles the scale of the hunt and expands it to new endangered species. In the 2005/2006 seasons 935 minke whales and 10 fin whales were killed. From 2007/2008, this escalated to 935 minke whales and 50 fin whales. A large proportion of these whales will be killed within the Australian Whale Sanctuary. (50 humpback whales scheduled for the 2007/2008 hunt have been given a reprieve).

The dramatic expansion of the hunt means HSI's court case is now more important than ever.

History of the case

In July 2006 HSI won the first hurdle in the case, winning an appeal against a decision from Justice James Allsop in May 2005 which denied us permission to bring the case because of concerns raised by Australia’s Attorney General that it could “give rise to an international disagreement with Japan”.

Over the next year HSI overcame several more obstacles, including the Japanese government's refusal to routinely serve the court documents to Kyodo Senpaku. However, this resulted in no more than a delay to the proceedings, as in February HSI obtained court approval to serve the documents via alternate means. In July 2007 the court resumed again, with the defendant once again conspicuously absent, in order to set a date for the final substantive hearing.

HSI returned to court on 18th September for the final hearing, more than three years since opening these proceedings, to present our evidence and testimony to Justice Allsop. On the 15th January the Federal Court declared the hunt to be in breach of Australian law and ordered an injunction for it to be stopped.

Click here for the Federal Court judgement

HSI has been ably and generously represented in our legal proceedings by Stephen Gageler QC, Junior Counsel Chris McGrath and the Environmental Defender’s Office of NSW.