Thursday, December 20, 2007

Save the Whales


It's a scene that brings laughter and cheers from visitors to a Japanese aquarium - two white beluga whales wearing Santa hats.


But environmentalists are saddened by the sight of what they say is the final humiliation for the whale in a country that hunts them down with harpoons.


The beluga whales have been fitted out with the cute Santa hats to entertain the crowds at the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise on Yokohama Island.


"While whales are being used for entertainment in Japan, the Japanese fleet is subjecting whales to a cruel death in the Southern Ocean," said Mr Darren Kindleysides, a Sydney-based campaigner for the International Fund for Wildlife.


"Sadly, the aquarium owners seem to be showing as little respect for whales as their Government."
Hat tip: Arbroath

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