Public hearings started in The Hague yesterday as Australia and Japan take their fight over whaling to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the UN's top court. Australia argues that Tokyo's scientific research programme - under which it caught and killed thousands of whales over the past 25 years - is commercial whaling in disguise. RFI spoke to Patrick Ramage, the head of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, who is currently in The Hague for the ICJ hearings.