Anti-whaling activists

Australian anti-whaling activists say they’re following a Japanese fleet of ships（舰队） they say has killed four whales in the Southern Ocean. The activists

say the whales were killed within a protected whale sanctuary（在鲸鱼保护区内）. It’s the first such incidentin this whaling season.The anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd says its boats are following five Japanese ships. The group released video footage （公布了视频） apparently showing three dead whales on board, as well as a heavily bloodied deck where another whale appears to have been butchered. （注意其时态的运用）

Sea Shepherd says the whales were killed within the internationally designated Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. There is a worldwide ban on the commercial fishing of whales but the Japanese maintain（断言，坚持说） their whaling is for scientific research, which falls outside the ban.Last year Australia took Japan to the International Court of Justice in an attempt to force it to cease whaling. A decision on the case is expected later this year. But environmentalists here have criticised the Australian government for not doing enough to stop the Japanese.