While Finlay was away on his travels in Canada. Ella and Rachael headed down to Edinburgh to organise a protest march to mark that Japan was planning to begin commercial whaling again on 01 July.

The march commenced at 12:30 from Princes Street gardens and visited the Norwegian, Danish, Russian consulates and ended at the Japanese Consulate on Melville Crescent. Ella handed in a handwritten letter at each consulate to explain why she was protesting. In addition an open letter to the world leaders attending the G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan signed by Steve Backshall, Liz Bonnin, Nicky Campbell, Stephen Fry, Rick Gervais, Dr. Jane Goodall, Virginia McKenna, Will Travers and over 100 NGOs from around the world was also handed over.

Well done both of you for stepping up and organising this. Any protest like this is never easy and requires lots of planning and paperwork. Thanks also to all who turned up on the day to offer their support but especially Sarah Dolman of WDC and the amazing Blackman family from Edinburgh.

 

Open Letter to World Leaders attending the G20 Summit

Osaka, Japan, Saturday 29 June 2019

Dear (G20 leaders)

As you prepare to take your seats at the first ever G20 Summit to be held in Japan, we write to express our deep concern over the Japanese Government’s decision to leave the International Whaling Commission (IWC), effective 30th June 2019, and conduct commercial whaling within its 200 mile Exclusive Economic Zone and coastal waters.

We ask you to send a public message to your Summit’s honourable hosts that your countries object to Japan’s commercial whaling intentions in the strongest possible terms.

The international ban on commercial whaling, agreed by the IWC in 1982, applies to territorial waters as well as the high seas. It is one of the world’s most important conservation and welfare measures and has saved several populations from extinction. It has proved of vital importance in protecting the world’s great whales, enabling the gradual recovery of whale populations after decades of human-driven, catastrophic decline. However, many whale populations remain depleted or endangered.

Today, all whale populations are vulnerable to non-hunting threats including bycatch, ship collisions, climate change, and chemical, litter and noise pollution, which will take their toll on these mammals long into the future.

It therefore remains critical that co-ordinated global efforts are maintained to ensure the continued protection and survival of the world’s whales.  This includes maintaining the international ban on commercial whaling.

Japan’s decision to overtly conduct commercial whaling, whilst also leaving the international body charged with overseeing whale conservation and whaling, shows a disregard for their duty to co-operate in the management of living marine resources as required by both customary international law and the United Nations’ Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Japan’s commercial whaling aspirations serve no pressing need for whale meat in Japan or anywhere else in the world. Consumption of whale meat in Japan declined by almost 99% between 1962 and 2017, during which time government data shows that less than 4,000 tonnes were eaten.

Commercial whaling is an inherently and exceptionally cruel practice which has no place in the 21^st Century. There is no reliably humane way to kill whales at sea, and exploding harpoons often cause these animals to die slowly and in agony.

As the G20 Summit takes place in Osaka, peaceful protests will take place in London, Edinburgh and other cities around the world, reflecting overwhelming global public opinion that commercial whaling is inhumane, archaic and unnecessary.

Whales are iconic, long-lived and socially complex. They are important sentinels of the health of our oceans and contribute important ecosystem services to the marine environment. International collaboration to protect whales is a global responsibility that must not be undermined by a single country acting in isolation, motivated by short-sighted self-interest.

We therefore request all G20 leaders to agree a declaration at the G20 Osaka Summit, calling for an immediate end to all commercial whaling.

Celebrities

 Steve Backshall, BAFTA-winning English naturalist, writer and TV presenter

Liz Bonnin, Wildlife and natural history presenter

Nicky Campbell, radio broadcaster and presenter

Stephen Fry,

Ricky Gervais, Comedian, actor, screenwriter.

Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE. Founder – the Jane Goodall Institute & UN Messenger of Peace

Virginia McKenna, OBE, actress, author and wildlife campaigner

Will Travers OBE President Born Free Foundation

 

NGOs

 

Argentina

Fundación Cethus

Instituto de Conservacion de Ballenas

 

Australia

Australians for Animals Inc

Australian Marine Conservation Society

Australian Whale Conservation Society

Humane Society International (Australia)

Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia (ORRCA)

Whales Alive

World Animal Protection Australia New Zealand

 

Brazil

Augusto Carneiro Institute

Brazilian Humpback Whale Institute

 

Canada

Animal Alliance Canada
No Whales in Captivity

World Animal Protection

Zoocheck Canada

 

China

Animals Asia Foundation

 

France

Eastern Caribbean Coalition for Environmental Awareness (Martinique)

Fondation Brigitte Bardot

Robin des Bois

 

Germany

Delphinschutz.org

Deutsche Stiftung Meeresschutz

M.E.E.R. e.V .

Pro Wildlife e.V.

 

India

The Corbett Foundation

Sagar Shakti

Sanctuary Nature Foundation

Wildlife Conservation Trust

Wildlife First

Wildlife Protection Society of India

Wildlife Society of Orissa

Wildlife Trust of India

 

Indonesia

Animal Friends Jogja

FLIGHT

Jakarta Animal Aid Network

 

Italy

Tethys Research Institute

 

Japan

Iruka and Kujira Action Network (IKAN)

Japan Wildlife Conservation Society

 

Mexico

Casa Wayu

Causa Natura

Centro Mexicano de Derecho Ambiental

Conservación de Mamíferos Marinos de Mexico

COMARINO

Fundación Antonio Haghenbeck y de la Lama

Fundación Tierra Nueva

Grupo de los Cien

Grupo Gema del Mayab.A.C.

Legis Green

Nuevo Ciclo

Producciones Serengueti S.A.

Empty the Tanks

Marea Azul, Lourdes Rodriguez Badillo

Protectora Nacional de Animales

Reserva para la Protección de Fauna y  Flora

Teyeliz, A.C.

 

Russian Federation

Free Russian Whales Coalition

Dolphin Rescue and Research Center (“Delfa”)

Marine Mammal Protection Center (“Orcinus”)

Rescue Center (“Seal”)

Save Dolphins

 

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Humane Society

 

South Africa

AfriOceans

Animal Law Reform South Africa

Captured in Africa Foundation

Future 4 Wildlife
Pit Track K9 Conservation & Anti Poaching
Elephant Specialist Advisory Group
Voices4Lions
Southern African fight for Rhinos

South Korea

Humane Society International/South Korea

Korea Animal Rights Advocates

Korean Animal Welfare Association

 

Turkey

 

UK

Animal Defenders

Born Free Foundation

Campaign Whale

Change for Animals Foundation

Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation

Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA)

Humane Society International

Institute of Fisheries Management

Marine Conservation Society

MARINELife

ORCA

Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

Whale and Dolphin Conservation

 

USA

American Cetacean Society

Antiwhalingsociety.com

Animal Welfare Institute

Blue Sphere Foundation

Center for Biological Diversity

Cetacean Society International

Defenders of Wildlife

EIA-US

Earthtrust International

Green Vegans

Humane Society International

International Fund for Animal Welfare

International Marine Mammal Project of Earth Island Institute

Natural Resources Defense Council

NewYork4Whales

Oceanic Preservation Society

Origami Whales Project

SeaLegacy

Shark Research Institute

Shark Stewards

The Whaleman Foundation

The WILD Foundation