A plaque on the RV Farley Mowat showing vessels claimed by Sea Shepherd to have been 'sunk.' (Photo: GNU Public License)

Whaling, comedy and eco-terrorism

WORLDWIDE
Friday, October 30, 2009, 23:50 (GMT + 9)

When I set out to write this article, I had planned to write about the hit US animated sitcom South Park and its depiction of the the Japanese whaling fleet this week, however what I discovered was something far more interesting and somewhat sinister.

In Wednesday's episode of South Park, the Japanese are shown to be on a merciless mission to wipe-out all dolphins and whales on earth, not only on whaling vessels, but also with swords and spears wielded by large dolphin-killing “hit-squads”.

Although the show is of a humorous nature, it does raise the issues of whaling and dolphin bycatch, both of which have been in the media spotlight frequently over the last year. Organisations such as Greenpeace have been monitoring whaling vessels since its formation.

Despite first appearances, the show is not overly critical of whaling, saying at one point that “they've been doing it for hundreds of years”. The programme is much more critical of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, an organisation which uses tactics described as “terrorism” and “vigilantism” by some.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has received media attention in recent years for being shown on the Animal Planet reality TV show “Whale Wars," which documents the activities of Sea Shepherd aboard its vessel the SV Steve Irwin.

Sea Shepherd's Paul Watson (Photo: GNU Public License)

The group's original vessel, the RV Farley Mowat was seized by Fisheries and Oceans Canada in April 2008, after the vessel had come near the seal hunt without an observation permit. After the captain and first officer were sentenced by Canadian courts, the vessel was put up for sale to cover the CAD 500,000 in (USD 467,000) berthing fees accrued since the seizure.

The organisation's founder, Paul Watson, came under heavy attack in the South Park episode. He was described on the show as a “smug, narcoleptic liar with no credibility” and as “an unorganised, incompetent media whore who thought lying to everyone was OK as long as it served his cause."

The “lies” refer to an incident where Watson claims to have been shot by the crew of the Nisshin Maru, after Watson and his crew provoked the men by throwing bottles of butyric acid at the whaling vessel.

Some more controversial measures taken by the group include scuttling and disabling whaling equipment at harbour, boarding vessels at sea and ramming vessels. Sea Shephard have claimed to have sunk ten vessels.

Watson, who was expelled from the Greenpeace board in 1977 after serving as a skipper on many of their vessels, was denied a visa to enter Australia this year. Similar action is expected from other governments since some of the vessels claimed to have been sunk by Watson carried Icelandic, Norwegian and Spanish flags.

In an interview with CBC News, Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams said: "Ever since I've been aware of him, I've always considered Paul Watson to be, you know, a vile, disgusting excuse for a human being."

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"I think what a lot of people don't realise is that this man is a terrorist, in fact, you know, to come out with the insensitive remarks, for example, that he came out with a few weeks ago, when these sealers lost their lives and he put their lives below animal lives," Williams said.

Watson had sparked an uproar when he said that while the deaths of four Quebec sealers was a tragedy, "the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of seal pups is an even greater tragedy."

Despite commercial whaling being illegal, are these actions justified? Among other questions, I asked Sea Shephard if they considered that attacking people who were simply trying to make a living was just, however they have yet to answer. I suspect that both Watson and and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, along with whaling, will be making headlines again in the future.

By Michel Loubet
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com