I love Japan and its people. I have always been impressed by all the Japanese people I have ever met and worked with. But I am so sad that Japan sends its ships to our ocean to kill our whales. We Australians see whales as very intelligent creatures who nurture their young in family groups, and who have a special relationship with humans.

The sight of a whale breaching out to sea from one of our beaches is something everyone here longs for.

Please, if you need to kill whales, could you do it off your own coast, perhaps using traditional methods? Giant factory ships in the Southern Ocean armed with explosive harpoons do not seem to me to show any respect for the great creatures you are killing. It is unfair, they do not stand a chance.

If the noble people of Japan agree with me, they should tell their politicians to end this pointless slaughter.

michael macken