Commercial whaling during the last century decimated most of the world's whale populations. Estimates suggest that between 1925, when the first whaling factory ship was introduced, and 1975, more than 1.5 million whales were killed in total.

By John Burton

The whaling industry uses half-truths and outright lies to defend itself. Here we debunk some of their myths, and set the record straight.

Whale meat is a luxury food in Japan - and has been for several decades. An opinion poll conducted in 1999 showed that only 11 percent of Japanese adults support whaling, with a similar number of 14 percent of Japanese adults opposing it.