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.
The Japanese are indeed bold to kill these whales under the guise of research. Research my eye! Do they really believe we are all so dense as well as blind? Go Sea Shepherds and do your best to black their whaling eyes, as it were. We will thank you and the whales of future generations will too.
What stupid fools the crew are… OMFG… We can only hope that the Steve Irwin gets hit with a bunch of sting rays. :->
@ BJ if you feel like bringing God into this I am game here we go!!
Leviticus 11:9 “These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat.”
one whale burger please!!!
Genesis 9:2-4
And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon
every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered. Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.”
there are several thoughts on eating meat throughout the bible but these should shut you up.
I do not hug trees but I do try to be a good steward of the land and water. I hunt, I fish and if a group of idiots came throwing things at me I would not be as nice as the Japanese.
They need to be arrested they’re disgusting hypocrites and media whores flying a makeshift pirate flag. They care nothing for the lives of others and should be stopped called heroes. The worst part is they have ruined the effort of Greenpeace and other well meaning organizations in Japan, setting them back more than 10 years of work with an entire generation.
The Sea Shepherds are a much like Animal liberation front. Soon they will probably on the FBI international terrorist list like A.L.F.
it is bussiness and research hand in hand… or do you think they should just throw all the meat away after having done the research bit? sounds logical eh?
Watching whale wars on Animal Planet makes me laugh. All the crew on Sea Shepherd are so concerned when beeing sprayed with water cannons etc, but what they are doing is illegal, and even though they voulanteer and sign different papers etc, paul watson is jeopardizing their lives to “save” the whales!
Stop Paul Watson!
Arne, Norway
Yes, the S.S. crew are a bunch of twats. BUT, they DO see a good amount of action. Besides, they haven’t an Englishman on board. So I’ve decided to join them for one season, and one reason: Danger is my middle name. I live for the thrill, guns, grenades, explosions, and more. I don’t care about those souless creatures, just about gettin’ my bloody share of adrenaline…
-Adrenaline Junkie
even,
that is crap you telling me that it’s okay for the whalers to use the lrad to endanger lives they hit the sea shepards not the other way around they were cutting in front of the sea shepard so it’s the japanese felt that they hit them. the japenese whalers are eco-terriost.
mac if you were for the whales you wouldn’t be sitting here saying that the sea shepherd crew is whinny. you saying that its okay for the japense to go out and kill whales just because they feel like it. they threw stuff at the sea shepards small boats endangering lives with the lrad i think it’s crap that the sea shepherd crew got in trouble but not the japanese whalers they were endangering lives when they would turn their Lrad on or the powerful water cannons. the japanese whalers get what they deserve.
steve,
the eco-terriost are the japanese whalers not ss.
sue,
that is crap you telling me that it’s okay for the whalers to use the lrad to endanger lives they hit the sea shepards not the other way around they were cutting in front of the sea shepard so it’s the japanese felt that they hit them.
mac if you were for the whales you wouldn’t be sitting here saying that the sea shepherd crew is whinny. you saying that its okay for the japense to go out and kill whales just because they feel like it. they threw stuff at the sea shepards small boats endangering lives with the lrad i think it’s crap that the sea shepherd crew got in trouble but not the japanese whalers they were endangering lives when they would turn their Lrad on or the powerful water cannons. the japanese whalers get what they deserve.