"Whale Wars" Show Delivers Green, Vegan Pirate Action

When I first saw the name "Whale Wars," I thought to myself, "this had better be about whales fighting each other. Then I saw the trailer and I was pretty impressed despite the fact that no whales fought one another.

Much more sadly and less whimsically, it's about whales unable to fight back against modern-day whalers. See, it's illegal to kill and catch whales for commercial purposes, but you can kill them for scientific research. So Japanese boats that claim to be doing this sort of research paint the word "RESEARCH" broadly across their boat, in English, and go about their day's work.

Well, some folks don't believe that all of the whaling being done out there is being done for research, and others still don't care one way or the other, they're just opposed to the killing of whales. Enter Sea Shepherd. This is an organization started by one of the rogue founders of Greenpeace, Paul Watson, who was actually booted from Greenpeace for his radical views.

How radical are his views? He's a Vegan pirate, for one. [Read an interview with Capt. Watson over at SuperVegan] And he and the crew of the -- I am not making this up -- Steve Irwin sail about, seeking out the offending Japanese ships, which they follow and harass in hopes of saving whales from what they believe is needless, illegal killing for commercial purposes.

I probably ought to just let you get to the video:

Now, I've seen the entire first episode, and I'll say this -- it's a great watch. I'm not one for appointment television, but I'll be setting my DVR for the show. You can catch the first episode tomorrow night, that's Friday night, on Animal Planet at 9 p.m. Check your listings, though, just in case.

I don't know precisely where I stand on their tactics if only because I'm not all that well-read on international whaling law. The show is pretty impressive, though.

 

Follow Dave Burdick on Twitter: www.twitter.com/daveburdick

Comments

[timomgwtf]

03:36 PM on 11/19/2008

I applaud Paul Watson and his Sea Shepherd crew. They are the very few who are willing to actually do something about the slaughter of whales. The do other admirable things too, like bringing a spotlight to reprehensible acts such as drift netting, long lines, Galopogos poaching, shark finning, baby Harp Seal hunts, and this list goes on and on. If you want to support the green movement, scratch a BIG check and send it to these folks.

[RightWingMarine]

03:53 PM on 11/11/2008

so the use of chemical weapons (stink bombs and slippery substances) are permissable if we don't like the group that is being attacked?

How is someone that boarded a boat uninvited kidnapped?

[LightningJoe]

10:50 PM on 12/04/2008

They're kidnapped if they are not permitted to leave, aren't they? Either that, or they are being detained pending legal action. But in that case, there has to be a law violated, and there wasn't. The UN Law of the Sea specifically authorizes private citizens to take measures to enforce the treaty's provisions, which is what the Sea Shepherd is doing.

Try "detaining" a cop sometime, and see if you get away with it.

[behindthescene]

07:35 AM on 11/08/2008

ACCORDING TO THE AMOUNT OF COMMENTS POSTED HERE ....NO ONE REALLY CARES ABOUT GOING GREEN.

BUT THE GREEN VOTE WAS CAST.
SO....

MADONNA, LEO, TIMBERLAKE ETC...WILL START LIVING A MORE ED BEGLEY LIFESTYLE.

THEY WILL SELL THEIR MANSIONS, OWN 1 GREEN CAR, HAVE A GARDEN, CONDUCT BUSINESS VIA SATELLITE....

MANY CELEBS AND ENTERTAINERS WILL CUT DOWN ON WORK, BECAUSE OF THE AMOUNT OF ENERGY USED FOR PRODUCTION

LIMITED OR SCALED BACK PREMIERS, PARTIES, AND AND AWARD CEREMONIES.

[epski]

11:11 AM on 11/07/2008

Dave, just as the commercial exploitation of whales is unnecessary, so is the commercial exploitation of cows, pigs, chickens, lambs, goats, turkeys, etc.