Violent encounter between whalers and activists
Anti-whaling activists and members of the Japanese fleet clashed on Wednesday off the coast of Antarctica, with three activists reported injured.
Japan is undergoing its annual whale hunt in the Southern Ocean, with Sea Shepherd anti-whaling group tailing the fleet and trying to cut short the project.
Several Sea Shepherd small boats were trying to slow down a Japanese harpoon vessel which was “aggressively tailing the Steve Irwin”, the anti-whaling group’s flagship, according to Captain Paul Watson, Sea Shepherd’s leader.
An American crewmember was injured by a bamboo pole, while a South African cameraman and a French photographer suffered bruising from iron grappling hooks, according to a statement by Sea Shepherd.
Japan’s version is different, with the Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR) announcing that the activists tried to cut ropes with knives and threw hooks at nets several times. “When the activists started using a knife to cut the…float fender rope and net, the Japanese vessel crew used bamboo poles as a measure to push the boat back,” the ICR said.
Sea Shepherd managed to stop Japan’s whaling campaign prematurely last year, after aggressively chasing the hunting fleet.
Japan claims it hunts whales for scientific reasons, avoiding thus an international ban on whaling that has been in place since 1986.
Irwan K.Haryadi
January 19, 2012 at 9:01 am
I have followed Sea Shepherds action for the last 5 year, and feel sick and tired of their action. They just used Japanese whaling as a cause to seek fame and money by manipulating naive animal lovers spending their money and risking their life for Paul Watson wallet sake, not for the whale welfare sake at all. See why they cooperate with Animal Planet to produce “Whale War” series? Just to obtain fame through Emmy awards and at the end of the day, money! They do not deserve this free publication working for him.
BARNABY SNYDER
January 24, 2012 at 1:30 pm
With all due respect to Mr. Haryadi, I guess it is easier for we who do not eat whale meat (forget the scientific excuse) to want to save the whales, a most majestic animal of the sea. In the U S, the environmentalists and animal lovers are plenty. Ranchers are furious at the govt. for introducing wolves which prey on their cattle and sheep. The govmt tells them “too bad this is the wolves homes and if it costs a few cattle and sheep, so be it.”
The slaughter of the baby seals in Canada is an equally cruel and senseless slaughter so some women can wear fur coats. The annual slaughter of dolphins in the harbor in Japan is horrific to any animal lover. Senseless and a real joy for those who want to participate. Ugly. vile, senseless and cruel.
We are not without our cruelty to animals either. The slaughter of horses is horrible to probably the majority of Americans, yet the horsemeat lobby pays off the lawmakers to allow it.
I say, save the whales and find something else to eat. I’m sure you can do without especially since the meat is so expensive it is probably only affordable by those who have excess income.
Irwan K.Haryadi
January 24, 2012 at 9:26 pm
The former member of Sea Shepherd and captain of the Ady Gil Pete Bethune described Watson as “morally bankrupt” who would order the intentional sinking of his own ships like the Ady Gil (donated by Ady Gil a Hollywood sponsor), as a means to “garner sympathy with the public and to create better TV”. This guy is so full of himself who will use every lies, any mean illegal or not just to be famous and rich.
The division between the pro- and anti-whaling actually is not fundamentally only over environmental or ethical difference, but more over a philosophical whether whales should be treated as person/ human, or are they mere resources?
Mr. Snyder, saving whales is a good cause, but do you know the food chain in the natural world? There are no predator to the biggest whales such as the one in Antarctic water of Southern Ocean where one 200 ton blue whale can swallows up to 6 tonnes of krill a day (about as much as an elephant weight). If there are too many of them with no predator or nobody hunts over them, then where are the krills for other whales, seals, penguins, squid, seabird chicks and other fish whom also thrive on krill? They will die of starvation and crumble the food chain level? For the sake of sustainability at this point human has to lend a helping hand to get the equation into balance because the entire marine ecosystem surely will suffer.
I am for the idea of saving this mighty creature, but not with action of such eco terrorism, who even dare to risk innocent people, the human lifes, for the sake of “saving the whale” by cutting the high speed moving Japanese whaling vessel, boarding it like pirates etc. I agree with what PM Julia Gillard of Australia by doing this through international court of justice.
Norway and Iceland are the only countries in the world to have lodged reservations against the 1986 international moratorium on commercial whaling, both by claiming that whale stocks are large enough to merit limited hunts. Scientists estimated there are at least around 700,000 to 1.4 million of this 8 meter – 9 ton – least concerned – not endangered minke whales at the moment. The Japanese along with some other whaling countries hunt for a small fraction of them, and they are not after the endangered species, as the 30 meter mighty blue whale with the population left of only around 4000 of them in the Southern Ocean.
Why some people don’t even want to eat animal meat, while some countries have the highest meat per capita consumption in the world? Can we judge them as cruel? No, we cannot judge other people solely based on our ideal, because we live in a diverse world with a lot of ideal. Some people relies on whale meat as part of their culture,and some based on steak and burger. We just cannot say “oh save Clarabell the cow” and eat something else just because the Hindu and Buddhist said they are also the reincarnation of human in their karma cycle, aren’t we? The activists simply used everything only to serve their own agenda, and surely not for the whale welfare.
Kei
January 25, 2012 at 11:52 am
While you may try to demonize Paul Watson and SSCS, you cannot evade the simple fact that the ICR’s “research” is a lie. The ICR is state-sponored commercial whaling operation that is thinly veiled as a “research” institute subsidized by Japanese taxpayers, most of whom do not support whaling.
Irwan K.Haryadi
January 25, 2012 at 4:54 pm
It is along story Kei, but if you really want to know the story about ICR, you can start by reading the analysis in 2007 by Richard Black, the environmental correspondent for BBC in this link http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6659401.stm
Japan could renegade like Norway or Iceland who continuously uo to now hunting the whales despite of the moratorium, but anti Japan sentiment forced Japan to choose a loophole to fulfill their need on their US fishing quota. Too bad it is only part of the history. I lived in Japan in 1981 – 1982, and I am sure that SSCS style is not the way to persuade the Japanese to give up whaling. Face is a mark of personal dignity and means having high status with one’s peers, therefore they do not openly criticize, insult or put anyone on the spot to lose face. General Mc Arthur knew this best during the end of WW2 with Emperor Hirohito at that time. If you are Japanese, you must be familiar with this part of Japanese history.
I also want the whaling to decrease only to satisfy cultural needs, but with the SSCS action, things even getting worse.