Pierce Brosnan backs campaign to save the whales

It has been reported that former James Bond star Pierce Brosnan and his wife Keely are fighting Japan’s controversial ‘scientific research’ whaling program.

Pierce Brosnan (Copyright: Wenn)

The 63-year-old actor is disgusted by the country’s policy that has commissioned the slaughter of 15,000 whales under the guise of science and penned a heartfelt essay in Time magazine.

He said: “We are passionate about efforts to protect our planet’s great whales and their ocean habitat. Although many people think we saved the whales in the 1970s, surprisingly, whales face more threats today than ever before. Therefore, there is a genuine sense of urgency needed in the ongoing fight to protect these magnificent creatures, as well as a renewed sense of optimism …

(Copyright: Jason McCawley/Getty)

"This is the first IWC meeting since Japan restarted its so-called 'scientific research’ whaling program in the Antarctic, after the U.N. International Court of Justice found it illegal. Since the moratorium, Japan has exploited a loophole to kill more than 15,000 whales under the guise of science. The IWC adopted 22 resolutions over the years calling on Japan to halt or restrict its 'scientific whaling research.’”

Almost immediately after the 1986 International Whaling Commission whaling ban came into effect, Japan launched its scientific whaling programme which was widely recognised as a cover for its ongoing commercial whaling operation.

The Mama Mia star insisted the public has “power” to put an end to whaling.

He went on: “As you may know, the lives of whales (and countless other species) are threatened by the choices that we as humans have made and continue to make as we expand our footprint across the earth. Rogue commercial whaling, noise pollution, chemical pollution, marine debris, ship strikes, climate change, ocean acidification and entanglement in fishing gear are all leading to the demise of these leviathans.

Whale shop at tsukiji fish market, Kanto region, Tokyo, Japan (Copyright: Eric Lafforgue/Art in All of Us/Getty)

"Therefore, it is more important than ever before that the IWC champions cetacean conservation. The commission must maintain its strong support for the global moratorium on commercial whaling and oppose any efforts to undermine it. And it must call on Japan, Iceland and Norway to end all commercial and 'scientific research’ whaling indefinitely.

"We are all forces of nature - the catalysts and agents of change, the architects and engineers of a new tomorrow. We shape and create our reality every moment of every day, and like no species before we have the power to define our future.”

Despite the 1986 IWC ban on commercial whaling, Iceland, Norway and Japan refused to end all whaling operations.