Japan kills 333 whales for ‘research purposes’ despite international criticism

‘A Japanese fleet has returned to port with the carcasses of 333 minke whales which were harpooned in the Antarctic Ocean, despite an international ban on commercial whale hunting and appeals from animal rights groups.
The 8,145-ton Nisshin Maru – the only whaling factory ship in the world – and two catcher vessels arrived at the whaling community port of Shimonoseki, southwest Japan, on Friday. The ships were the last of a five-vessel fleet.
The country’s Fisheries Agency confirmed the fleet had carried out its four-month mission to conduct “research for the purpose of studying the ecological system in the Antarctic Ocean,” reaching its stated goal of killing 333 whales.’
Read more: Japan kills 333 whales for ‘research purposes’ despite international criticism