Plea to boycott Japanese goods by Ireland's National Sea Life Centre

Consumers should boycott Japanese goods in protest at its whale hunting expeditions, Ireland's National Sea Life Centre said.

It is also calling for people to petition the Japanese Embassy in Dublin to register their anger at the action. Despite a ban on commercial whaling, Japan launched its four month Antarctica hunting expedition on Sunday claiming the mission was for scientific research. It argues the numbers to be slaughtered are too small to make an impact on the whale population.

But Pat O'Suilleabhain, manager of the National Sea Life Centre in Bray, said: "Japan uses a loophole in the charter of the International Whaling Commission to carry on whaling for so-called 'scientific' purposes. The Japanese government ignores all diplomatic lobbying to stop this butchery, even though polls suggest that even the majority of Japanese people are against it."