More than 120 pregnant whales were lost during Japan’s annual hunt last summer, a report has revealed, prompting outrage among conservationists.

近日，国际捕鲸科学委员会在最新发布的文件中称：去年夏天，日本在南极海域的所谓年度“科研捕鲸”活动中，捕杀了120多只怀孕的小须鲸，这引发了动物保护主义者的愤怒。

Figures show that 128 of the 333 minke whales caught during the 12-week expedition in the Southern Ocean were female. 122 of them were pregnant.

数据显示，在去年为期12周的南大洋捕鲸活动中，日本捕获了333头小须鲸，其中128头是成年母鲸，122头是有孕在身的。

The figures were published in a technical report submitted to the International Whaling Commission and prepared by representatives of the Institute of Cetacean Research, an agency linked to Japan’s fisheries ministry.

这些数字由日本渔业部相关机构鲸鱼研究所的代表编写，发表在提交给国际捕鲸科学委员会的技术报告中。

Conservationists greeted the report’s findings with fury, calling the statistics “shocking” and condemning the slaughter as “abhorrent.”

环保人士愤怒地质问了报告的调查结果，称该统计数据“令人震惊”，并谴责屠杀行为是“可恶的”。

It is further demonstration, if needed, of the truly gruesome and unnecessary nature of whaling operations, especially when non-lethal surveys have been shown to be sufficient for scientific needs, Alexia Wellbelove, Senior Program Manager at Humane Society International, said in a statement.

“如果需要的话，这是在进一步证明捕鲸行为真正可怕的面目和不必要性，特别是非致命性的调查已经被证实足以满足科研需求”，国际人道协会的高级项目经理亚历克西娅?韦尔比洛夫在一份声明里说。

Why are we still whaling?

我们为什么还在捕鲸？

Japan has previously justified its whaling on an exemption in international law which allows the animals to be killed for scientific purposes, but Australia won a 2014 case at the International Court of Justice which ruled against the Japanese program in the Southern Ocean.

日本此前曾对国际法中的豁免权进行辩解，该豁免权允许从事科学研究目的杀害动物的行为，但2014年澳大利亚在国际法院中赢得了针对日本南大洋捕杀鲸鱼案的裁决。

After the ruling however, Japan announced new research program, under which it would kill up to 333 Antarctic minke whales each year. The country’s fisheries ministry said the program is necessary to study the best methods of managing minke populations.

然而，在裁决之后，日本宣布了新的研究计划，每年杀死多达333只南极小须鲸。日本渔业部表示，该计划是为了研究管理小须鲸数量的最佳方法。

The continued killing of any whales is abhorrent to modern society, but these new figures make it even more shocking. We look forward to Australia and other pro-conservation countries sending the strongest possible message to Japan that it should stop its lethal whaling programs, said Wellbelove.

“对现代社会来说，继续杀死鲸鱼是荒谬的，但这些新的数字更令人震惊。我们期待澳大利亚和其他环保国家向日本发出最强烈的信息，敦促它立即停止其致命的捕鲸计划”，韦尔比洛夫说。

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