Japanese hunting Sea Shepherd "for scientific purposes"

THE JAPANESE whaling industry has said they are attacking and hunting environmental groups "purely for scientific purposes."

Japan's comments come after the collision between a 52-metre Japanese whaling ship, the Shonan Maru 2, and Sea Shepherd's Ady Gil near Antartica.

The Japanese Fishing Agency said there are important scientific studies being carried out by ramming protest boats.

"Firstly, we're testing the durability of both our ships and theirs, free of charge I might add. Secondly, we're seeing if boats explode when they collide like they do in James Bond films, and finally, we're seeing if hippies can swim," said a spokesperson for the Agency from Tokyo.

The Sea Shepherd captain, Paul Watson, rejected the scientific merit of Japan's experiments.

"There's no need to actually kill the protesters to achieve those scientific goals," he said.

"The Japanese whalers could simply anesthetise the protesters to achieve those goals, but instead they choose to inhumanely slaughter them," said Watson.

The Japanese Fishing Agency has a quota for brutally killing up to one thousand protesters this season.

Protester meat is considered a delicacy in Japan, partly due to the effects of eating someone who has smoked that much marijuana.

The meat is also said to be extremely tender and juicy due to the marijuana usage.