Demut und Fleiß

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am an Australian who is concerned about the killing of whales in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary by the Japanese government. Humpback whales are important wild animals for us socially and economically, due to the growing popularity of whale watching. Fin whales are listed as endangered and there is no agreement on the numbers of minke whales.

Please understand and respect that people in Australia and other countries want to protect these rare and threatened animals for future generations.

As a member of the Democratic Party of Japan, which made strong progress in the last election, I respectfully ask you to understand how Japan’s whaling policy, funded by Japanese taxpayers, is creating diplomatic and environmental problems outside of Japan. And I ask you to seriously challenge the current government’s whaling policy in order to stop the killing of whales in Antarctica.

I also ask that you oppose the plans to build a replacement whaling factory ship. Please don’t lock your country into another 40 years of whaling, and allow your whaling fleet to be retired.

I also hope you will be able to visit Australia to go whale watching in the near future to see and experience how magnificent whales are and how much the whale watching industry contributes to our economy.

Sincerely yours,
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,22836857-5014728,00.html