Endangered Whale Sold in Japan

July 19 – DNA detectives discovered meat from endangered whales on sale in Japanese food markets, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) said on Wednesday. The Scientists said they found meat from protected humpback, fin and sei whales on sale. Their research also revealed horse and dolphin meat is being passed off as whale meat. The researchers, who have presented their evidence to the International Whaling Commission, Purchased a total of 129 samples from whale markets and subjected them to DNA analysis. “This new research finally revels the truth: that so-called scientific whaling is providing a cover for the illegal trade in endangered species,” the IFAW’s Japan representative Naoko Funahashi said in a statement released in London. Japan, where whale meat is a delicacy, is one country allowed under a 15-year-old international moratorium to catch a certain number of whales for scientific research. Environmentalists argue that carefully controlled whale-watching for tourists offers a financially viable alternative to hunting, with nine million whale enthusiasts generating record revenues of $1 billion in 2000.