SHIMONOSEKI, JAPAN — After a one-year hiatus, Japan is resuming its whale hunts in the Antarctic, again maintaining the slaughter is for "scientific research." In 2014, the International Court of Justice said Japan's claims for the justification of its whaling practices were not rooted in scientific research and should stop. Calls of outrage from the international community to halt the expedition have not deterred Japan, and as a result, 333 minke whales will be hunted down and slaughtered between now and March 2016. The number represents a reduced kill target compared to years past, down roughly two-thirds from previous hunts. Over the next 12 years, Japan plans to capture and slaughter 4000 whales for the stated purpose of building a body of research, its attempt to prove the whale population is large enough for commercial whaling to return. An international whaling moratorium took effect across the world beginning in the 1985/1986 season, but Japan has used the scientific research loophole to conduct its annual slaughter ever since.

----------------------------------------­­---------------------

Welcome to TomoNews, where we animate the most entertaining news on the internets. Come here for an animated look at viral headlines, US news, celebrity gossip, salacious scandals, dumb criminals and much more! Subscribe now for daily news animations that will knock your socks off.

Visit our official website for all the latest, uncensored videos: http://us.tomonews.net
Check out our Android app: http://bit.ly/1rddhCj
Check out our iOS app: http://bit.ly/1gO3z1f

Get top stories delivered to your inbox everyday: http://bit.ly/tomo-newsletter

Stay connected with us here:
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TomoNewsUS
Twitter @tomonewsus http://www.twitter.com/TomoNewsUS
Google+ http://plus.google.com/+TomoNewsUS/
Instagram @tomonewsus http://instagram.com/tomonewsus