Brigitte Bardot tells Japan to stop whaling | MNN – Mother Nature …

The former screen siren has joined forces with Sea Shepherd to
call on Japan to halt its ‘campaign of death’ in the annual
Antarctic whale hunt.

WHALE WARS: The former French movie star and animal-rights
activist contributed to the brand-new trimaran, which Sea Shepherd
christened the Brigitte Bardot. (Photo: ZUMA Press)

Former screen siren Brigitte Bardot has joined forces with
militant environmentalists to call on Japan to halt its
campaign of death in the annual Antarctic whale
hunt.

In a letter to

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda

, the sixties sex kitten said it was indecent for
the Japanese government to be spending an additional $27 million on
beefed-up security for this year s hunt.

Whales are endangered and each animal killed is a crime
against biodiversity, said the French actress, who heads the
Brigitte Bardot Foundation.

Earlier this month, Tokyo announced that the whaling fleet would
be protected in Antarctic waters by a naval escort in a bid to fend
off harassment from groups such as Sea Shepherd, which pursues the boats.

Bardot said it was perverse to be spending money on sheltering
whalers at a time when the international community has come
to the aid of the victims of the tsunami

that
hit the northeast of Japan on March 11.

The one-time pin-up said her foundation had helped to buy a new
vessel for Sea Shepherd to boost the campaign to stop the Japanese
fleet of death this year.

The Sea Shepherd fleet will be there with my friend,
Captain Paul Watson at the helm of the trimaran
The Brigitte Bardot in the fight against the brigands and the
murderers of the sea, she said.

Commercial whaling is banned under an international treaty but
Japan uses a loophole to carry out lethal research on
the creatures in the name of science.

It makes no secret of the fact that whale meat from this
research ends up on dinner tables and in restaurants.

Sea Shepherd, a U.S.-based outfit, claimed a
victory of sorts earlier this year when Japan cut short its hunt by
a month after repeated harassment from the group, having caught
around a fifth of its target.

Activists have pursued the fleet through Antarctic waters,
hurled stink bombs and tried their best to obstruct the hunt, which
they say is commercial and has no basis in science.

In her letter to Noda, dated Monday, Bardot also called on Japan
to help the thousands of animals abandoned in an
exclusion zone around the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, which began leaking
radiation in the aftermath of the tsunami.

Tens of thousands of people were evacuated from a 20-kilometre
(12-mile) area around the plant because of potentially dangerous
levels of radiation, leaving domestic pets and farm animals to fend
for themselves.

She said the government should use the $27 million that it
intends to spend on protecting the whaling fleet to help people
affected by the tsunami and to come to the aid of animals
condemned to die in terrible conditions.

Powered by

Mochilla

WorldShares lets you earn donations for your favorite nonprofit. Earn up to 20 points now. Learn More Earn Points

CLOSE link: Related Links
Related Topics

CONNECT WITH MNN