Whale Hunts: Japan no longer has any 'scientific' excuse left

In The Australian newspaper, 27 August 2010:

A NEW way to study dolphins and whales without dart guns undercuts Japan's argument for what it calls scientific whaling, scientists say.

The "blow-sampling" method, developed by Australian scientists, allows scientists to gather crucial DNA information without potentially harming the animal, discrediting Japanese arguments that a whale needs to be killed.

Celine Frere, from the University of Queensland, headed the study. "Maybe this will make them realise they don't have to kill the whale to get the information," Dr Frere said.

Marine animal researchers have relied on gathering the animal's DNA by shooting a dart into the skin of the mammal to gather tissue samples.

Blow-sampling captures the air and the equivalent of spit expelled from the animal when they come up for air.

For those interested in more detail about this new technique, a recent PLoS ONE open access journal article Thar She Blows! A Novel Method for DNA Collection from Cetacean Blow is available online in PDF form.

The original research was conducted using dolphins but the method is said to be transferable to research on larger cetaceans.

The Australian Government encourages and funds non-lethal research. A eight-page booklet outlining current Antarctic research can be found here.

Photograph from Greenpeace.org