It was hardly the result the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) hoped for, or expected.
In a survey of 1,200 Japanese people across the country, conducted in October 2012 by the Nippon Research Center, more people supported the hunting of whales than opposed it. Of those aged between 15 and 79, 26.8 percent said Japan should continue hunting whales; while 18.5 percent said it should stop. It seems the government, which has said it expects to go ahead with this year's Southern Ocean whale hunt, has a mandate for its actions.
Beluga whales — which earlier this year were reportedly found to have learned to imitate human speech — might cry out in protest at the plight of their Antarctic cousins.