Japan Plans to Arrest Sea Shepherd Crew
The announcement by Japan’s Fisheries Agency that Sea Shepherd crew will be arrested if they disrupt Japanese whale killing operations has done little to stop the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. The direct action animal rights organization, as seen on Animal Planet’s “Whale Wars”, says they are “undettered” by the threats.
“When you are willing to die for a whale, the threat of arrest is somewhat trivial,” said Captain Paul Watson. “It can only further our cause of defending the whales if the Japanese take Sea Shepherd crewmembers hostage and haul them back to Japan for prosecution. The diplomatic, political and jurisdictional issues will be profound.”
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If arrested by the Japanese coastguard, Japan has stated that Sea Shepherd crew will be charged with forcible obstruction of business under Japanese law. Sea Shepherd claims they are acting in accordance with the United Nations Charter for Nature, which calls upon individuals and non-governmental organizations to uphold international conservation law.
“We must never forget that Japan is targeting threatened and endangered whales in an officially established whale sanctuary in violation of a global moratorium on commercial whaling and in defiance and contempt of an Australian Federal Court ruling prohibiting the killing of whales in the Australian Antarctic Territory,” said Sea Shepherd International Executive Director Kim McCoy.
The Sea Shepherd ship Steve Irwin departed on the 7th of December from Newcastle in New South Wales. “Whale Wars” is currently showing on Animal Planet and has been renewed for another season, which will include Splash star Daryl Hannah as a crewmember.
Image Credit: René Ehrhardt on Flickr under Creative Commons license.
Ironic that the Japanese say they will charge them with “forcible obstruction of business” while at the same time claiming it’s only research and not commercial whaling. How can it be obstructing business if they are supposed to be out there only doing research? What a joke. Godspeed to the Sea Shepherds!
Science is serious business
the Sea Sheptards deserve everything they get. while intentions are good the means that they go about it is uttertly stupid. lets throw this here, take a zodiac here. look if they wanna kill 1000 whale that is what they are gonna do and no boat with backing from animal plant is gonna stop them
Clearly the Japanese are researching how tasty whales are.
Captain Watson and the Sea Shepherd crew are true heroes! The Japanese are displaying their trademark “screw you as long as I get mine that´s all that counts”. What a selfish nation!
Seriously they are going to have B list stars on the show now! Guess I will find other show to watch, the first season got me into the story of what is happening with whales but now they have to put on celebs to look cool, lame just like the last episode name dropping the chili peppers I was waiting for an album mention!
Well, they can do that because the world has mostly given up on whales and let the Japanese control most organizations in charge of setting quotas on whale hunting.
The real killer is that it seems the younger population in Japan finds whale meat disgusting and won’t touch it with a ten-foot pole, so you have to wonder why they keep doing this crap.
Oh dear I feel for the Whales…
Oh wait I forgot sarcasm doesn’t come across so well in text
Sure Japan. Make an international incident. Go ahead. See who wins when you pull back the covers on your whaling practices.
Great article! Thanks!