If you haven’t run across this news yet, it’s pretty disheartening… a lot of disaster relief funds given to Japan to help it recover from the terrible tsunami and nuclear disasters that slammed it in March are reportedly being used to support the country’s whaling operations, something which is, by all practical standards, illegal. More from Avaaz on this news and a petition to stop the misuse of funds:
Right now, the Japanese whaling fleet is barrelling south to hunt thousands of majestic whales, escorted by a 30 million dollar security force paid for out of the tsunami disaster relief fund!
Anti-whaling champions were successfully blocking the Japanese whale hunt — which is exactly why the Japanese government decided to swipe money from relief efforts to stop the activists from bothering the boats while they engage in their brutal slaughter.
If we can stop the whaling security and get the relief money back for desperate Japanese citizens still languishing in radioactive hotspots,we could help end the whale hunt for good. Japanese PM Noda is already under enormous pressure after scandalous failures to compensate victims of the nuclear disaster. A massive global outcry can spark outrage inside and outside Japan and force Noda to use precious relief funds to save people, not kill whales.
Avaaz’s call to action: Sign This Petition! And share it with others.
Help stop illegal whaling in the Southern Ocean and help stop the use of disaster relief funds for this illegal whaling — those funds should go to people, not killing endangered species!
Whale in Southern Ocean via shutterstock