The European Union and 12 other nations condemned Japan's Antarctic whaling program Monday, rejecting Tokyo's argument that the annual slaughter is for scientific research. Japan's whaling fleet left for the Southern Ocean last month, planning to kill 333 minke whales over a four-month period. Its fisheries agency says the hunt is needed to study whale behavior and biology, but critics say such lethal research is unnecessary and acts as a cover for commercial whaling.

International call for Japan to that Antarctic whaling. (2017, December 19). Manila Bulletin, p. 8.