新西兰英语 232 Whaling protest in Antarctica
A protest boat, with a crew of six people, was damaged by a Japanese whaling ship in Antarctic waters yesterday. The boat, the Ady Gil, is registered in New Zealand but is part of a protest group – the Sea Shepherd – which has an Australian captain. The protest group is trying to stop the Japanese catching Minke whales. Every summer, Japan sends whaling ships to the Antarctic and every year, the Sea Shepherd tries to stop them. This is the first time there has been a collision between a protest boat and a Japanese ship. Nobody was killed although one member of the protest crew was slightly injured.
The International Whaling Commission, which wants to stop countries catching whales, has allowed Japan to catch 1,000 Minke whales each year. Japan says this is for scientific reasons. However, the whale meat is sold in fish markets in Japan.
The Sea Shepherd group says that whales are endangered and Japan should not catch any whales. The protesters have been using a number of different ways to stop Japanese ships such as throwing acid bombs, using ropes to damage the propeller of the ship and using water cannon. The Japanese ship used water cannon to try to stop the Ady Gil. It is not clear what happened next. Did the Ady Gil move towards the ship or did the ship move towards the Ady Gil?
The governments of three countries – Australian, New Zealand and Japan – will try to find out what happened.
Accidents in Antarctic waters can be very serious because of the cold and the distance to travel for help.
Questions to think about
? Are there better ways to protest about Japanese whaling ships?
? Some people say there are plenty of Minke whales in the ocean. If this is true, what is wrong with killing them? Is it the same as fishing?
? Some countries, such as Norway, Iceland and Japan, say that whale meat is part of their traditional food. Should they be allowed to kill whales for food?
? Should the Australian and New Zealand governments send ships to support the Sea Shepherd group?
