Sea Shepherd's fleet has finally closed with Japanese whalers in the Antarctic.
Unfortunately the Japanese came through the first encounter rather well.
The Sea Shepherd vessels, MV Farley Mowat and MV Robert Hunter clashed with the whalers today sending fast inflatable boats in close to disrupt the Japanese ships. One boat, crewed by an Australian and American, sought to foul one ship's propeller but got too close and collided with the ship, damaging the boat.
When the helpless protesters radioed for help they found their radio didn't work. Meanwhile the rest of the small boat flotilla had passed them by and they quickly got smothered in freezing fog, snow and sleet. The men eventually managed to lasso an iceberg to shelter from heavy winds and keep them from drifting away.
When the disappearance of the men was noticed, the Japanese suspended their hunt and took part in a joint search with the Sea Shepherd ships. They did this even though Sea Shepherd protesters had thrown six litres of acid on their flensing deck injuring two Japanese crewmen.
Sea Shepherd is right to protest the Japanese whaling. It's right they're doing it and we should be grateful to them. But are their tactics defensible? Is throwing acid at another human being justifiable? What if the Japanese decide to use firearms to defend themselves?
To my way of thinking, the resort to acid and the subsequent Japanese decision to assist in the search for the missing protesters, gives the first round squarely to Japan - and that's just sad.
5 comments:
The 'acid' you refer to is butyric acid which causes the bad smell in vomit - hardly a deadly attack but it did clear the decks of flesh stripping. Also, the whalers were compelled by the rules of the sea to assist in the search - try not to be so misleading in your comments and you might come across as believable.
I'm always open to being corrected so I thought I'd check out just how benign butyric acid really is. Here's a scientific rundown: "Harmful if swallowed or inhaled. Corrosive. Extremely unpleasant smell may cause nausea. Liquid may burn skin and eyes. Readily absorbed through skin. Severe skin, eye and respiratory irritant." And you have the gall to claim I'm misleading.
Good on Sea Shepherd - the Japanese need to be challenged
Bravo Sea Shepherd - give the Japanese whalers hell!
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