Hundreds of pregnant and nursing whales were slaughtered and their babies left to die by Japanese whalers, their Government has admitted in a gruesome report. The official Japanese Government report submitted to the International Whaling Commission reveals the true extent of the horrific slaughter, which Japan carries out under the guise of scientific research despite harvesting the whale meat for human and pet food.

A total of 1092 whales were slaughtered in the past Antarctic summer — 239 more than previously admitted — and almost all were killed in the disputed Australian Whale Sanctuary (AWS), according to the report. The dramatic increase took into account the foetuses and calves of the 853 minke and 10 fin whales. Of the 391 female minke whales, 224 were pregnant and their foetuses were also killed. Two pregnant fin whales were killed.

The report also reveals the disturbing slaughter of mothers which were feeding baby whales - without their mother's milk, the babies simply die. Japan is also pushing for an increase in the number of fin whales it can kill as its one of the largest whale species and provides much more meat than a minke whale.

Maps provided by the Japanese whalers showed that about 90 per cent of the whales were taken from the Australian Whale Sanctuary, which is declared by Australian law but not recognised by Japan. Japan is also planning to kill 50 humpback whales.

source: West Australian