Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has set a November deadline for Japan to stop commercial whaling in the Southern Ocean, or else face legal action.

A whale is slowly dragged on board a Japanese ship after being harpooned in Antarctic waters in this 2008 handout photo from the Australian Customs Service. [CCTV]

Japanese whalers have culled whales in Antarctic waters south of Australia for years. Prime Minister Rudd said on Friday that he would use diplomatic means to persuade Japan to end its hunt.

Kevin Rudd, Australian Prime Minister, said, "If that fails, and I'm saying this very bluntly and very clearly on your program today, if that fails then we will initiate that court action before the commencement of the whaling season in November 2010."

Two years ago, Australia sent a ship to Antarctic waters to follow Japan's whaling fleet. The ship collected videos and photos which could be used as evidence for legal actions.

Kevin Rudd, Australian Prime Minister, said, "The reason we sent the vessel that year was to put together the pictures, the photographs and all the film evidence that you need to substantiate a court action, then secondly, with the Japanese, and there have been three Japanese governments since then, is to work with the Japanese to reduce through negotiation their current catch to zero."

But despite the threat of legal action, Japan's foreign minister defended his country's whaling program.

Katsuya Okada, Japanese Foreign Minister, said, "We stand by our position that our research whaling mission is legal. I would like to discuss the issue with Prime Minister Rudd to help him better understand our position."

On Wednesday, an anti-whaling group's ship clashed with Japanese whalers in the Antarctic Ocean. It was the third and the most aggressive incident between the two sides this year.

The International Whaling Commission prohibited commercial whaling in 1986. Japan hunts hundreds of whales in Antarctic waters each year under its whaling research program.

Whale meat not used for study is sold for consumption in Japan, which critics say is the real reason for the hunts.