Ecoterrorism -- Whale Wars

I wonder if they were on former President Bush's axis of evil?

"If a whale is hit by an exploding harpoon near Antarctica and the world doesn’t have a way to witness that, does it make a sound?" - ANDREW C. REVKIN

I thought that was one of the more eloquent quotes I've heard in recent years. Mr. Revkin was talking to whale activists about the recent clash over Japanese whale hunting in the antarctic, which resulted in the sinking of a $1.5 million vessel owned by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS). A video of the ordeal can be found below, taken from the deck of the Japanese whaling vessel the Shonan Maru 2.





As you can see from this footage the SSCS and the Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR) do not get along. Reports from the incident say that the SSCS attack whaling vessels every year, throwing acid and smoke grenades onto their decks. They also tangle propellers with long lengths of rope, and unfortunately, use their very expensive speed boats to block the whaling vessels progress. As a result the whaling ships spray down the SSCS crew with water cannons and apparently are now ramming smaller vessels. You should take note here that the SSCS vessel is flying a jolly rogers, I don't know if you can play the innocent activist card and fly a pirate flag at the same time. But what do I know, I am just a bird guy after all.

Each side of the conflict is obviously pointing fingers at the other. SSCS say that their boat was intentionally rammed by the Japanese vessel, while the ICR ship claims the SSCS parked their boat in their way with no room to maneuver around them. Interesting statement considering the following video of the same collision.



So why all the hostility anyway? Most people know that whaling is illegal. In fact almost all of the major coastal countries in the world signed onto an international agreement creating the International Whaling Commission to ban sea mammal harvesting for commercial use. Japan signed onto this agreement, but are using a loop hole to continue whale harvests. Under the commission Japan and Norway refused to give up rights to capture whales for scientific research. Meat that goes unused after the theoretical tests are run is then allowed to be sold. Effectively this allows Japan and Norway to continue to hunt whales so long as they paint a big RESEARCH sign on the side of their ships. Japan is planning to collect 1,000 whales this season. That's a pretty big sample size, I hope they find something interesting.