By Oisin Sweeney • Published: 07 Jan 2021 • 7:53
The minke whale has been trapped in fishing nets since Christmas Eve - Image Source: Twitter
ANIMAL RIGHTS activists have raised an outcry over the plight of a large minke whale that has been trapped in Japanese fishing nets for over two weeks.
Activists have demanded the immediate release of a large minke whale who has spent the last two weeks trapped in fishing nets off the Pacific coast of Tanji, Japan. The town is infamous for its annual dolphin cull, which reached global notoriety following the shocking 2009 documentary The Cove.
Local fishermen say attempts to free the 4-5 metre long minke whale have been made difficult by the size of the ocean mammal and strong tidal currents. Ren Yabuki, an animal rights activist, has been recording the plight of the whale every day since it became trapped on Christmas Eve.
He told the Guardian that fishermen had made only one feeble attempt to release the animal and claims the fishermen are unmotivated to save the whale as removing the nets would release a large volume of captured fish. Yabuki says that if the fishermen kill the whale, they will be able to sell its meat for cash.
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Oisin is an Irish writer based in Seville, the sunny capital of Andalucia. After starting his working life as a bookseller, he moved into journalism and cut his teeth as a reporter at one of Ireland's biggest news websites. Since joining Euro Weekly News in November, he has enjoyed covering the latest stories from Seville, Spain and further afield - with special interests in crime, cybersecurity, and European politics. Anyone who can pronounce his name first try gets a free cerveza...
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