Tokyo, Reuter - A row broke out on Thursday over the fate of five killer whales destined for Japanese amusement parks.
Environmentalists demanded the release of the five mammals, which were among 10 killer whales caught by Japanese fishermen last week. But the Japanese Fisheries Agency said it had the authority to allow the whales' capture under international quotas set to catch whales for scientific study.
The 10 orcas, made famous in the Free Willy movies, were trapped on Friday when a giant net was put across a bay near the town of Taiji, about 450 km southwest of Tokyo. On Wednesday, five of the whales were set free. Fishermen prodded and lured three others into slings and they were sent to Adventure SeaWorld in nearby Shirahama. Two others remained inside the netted area waiting to be delivered to another amusement park and a whaling museum.
The agency gave permission to local fishermen in 1992 to capture five orcas. But the Dolphin and Whale Action Network, an environmental group, said the fishermen's authority had been nullified in the meantime by new international laws on scientific whaling which make orcas a protected species.
Japan, where whale meat is considered a delicacy, has long been at odds with many countries over its interpretation of regulations on catching whales for scientific purposes. Critics charge that Japan uses the guise of scientific study to maintain whale catching for commercial purposes while nearly all other countries have outlawed the industry.
There is no suggestion that the five trapped whales are to be slaughtered. But the environmental group said their dispatch to amusement parks is for tourist purposes, not for scientific study. Yukari Surugi, a spokesman with the group, said amusement parks pay up to 30 million yen ($NZ354,463) for a killer whale. He said the life span of killer whales in captivity ranges from six to seven years, while in the wild they can outlive human beings.
An official of the Izumito Sea Paradise, which has rights to one of the two whales still awaiting transfer, said they purchased their female for breeding purposes.
"At Izumito we are currently raising a male killer whale, and we are interested in breeding," said Masatoshi Mano, head of public relations.