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.
Whale Wars! What a great show. I’m rooting for the Japanese. Sea Shepheards are endangering the lives of sailors just trying to earn a living.
I think that Japan is making too much money to give up at all. The Japanese youth may not like whale meat but someone is obviously buying it. People from all over the world have many uses for whales.
If Japan arrests the Sea Sheperd’s crew it will launch a probe into their whaling practices stemming from the huge debates over Japan having any rights to prosecute in the first place. This may slow them down but I dont think it will stop them.
What they are doing is awesome! I love the new Navy girl! Great asset…but Peter Brown needs to go!!!!! He is only causing trouble, costing time, and putting lives in danger! Plus he is an @#%hole!
i’m just a stupid american,and i dont have the point of view that those that live in japan,and eat whale do,but scerw them !cant they just eat fish like the rest of us?
japan should hire some anti. material. sniping teams to take out the dumb fucks!!!
The whales are in “their” environment,people need to leave them alone! Shame on ALL of YOU that think it’s ok to kill those beautiful & innocent animals!!!!
GOD WILL PUNISH THOSE PEOPLE ON JUDGEMENT DAY!!!!!!
Maybe Captan Watson needs a Webstre’s….. His defination of “nonviolent” sounds alot like “The war to end all wars”. The vidio record is clear. They ONLY hurt the cause of preserving the planet.
I wonder… who is funding all this very expensive equipment? Who is funding the legal team to keep this operation in buisness? Make no mistake, Captan Watson is in buisness! Is Discovery Channel funding this? I’d love to see their books.
What a load of crap, brake the laws to save a useless fish?, Whaling is legal…
The japanese fleet should be smart let the sea shepherds hit them and damage their ship and sue them for damages can’t sail if your organiztion is broke lol