Japanese whaling fleet protested

TOKYO, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- New Zealand and Australia have requested that a Japanese whaling fleet planning to kill more than 1,000 whales abort its mission.

Among the targets of the hunt, which is being called a scientific mission, are 50 protected humpbacks, The Guardian reported Monday.

The demand follows an international protest at the fleet's departure.

The expedition will see humpbacks killed for the first time since they became a protected species more than 40 years ago.

New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said the fleet should have stayed at home, and condemned the expedition, which left port Sunday, as commercial whaling in the guise of scientific research.

"It is very difficult for us, as the nearest country with any sort of search and rescue capacity, to offer any help," she said. "Of course, we don't like the Japanese whaling fleet being down there at all. It would just be better if the Japanese stayed home and didn't come down under the guise, the deception, the claim, that it is scientific whaling when they want to take 1,000 whales."