Captain Paul Watson is a hero to animal advocates and a thorn in the flesh to Japan. He is the protector of whales. He will risk his life to protect whales. He feels that it is necessary to take extreme measures; direct physical measures in order to stop illegitimate and unjustified whaling. Two countries do this namely Japan and Norway.
He’s been active in whale conservation for many years but was allegedly kicked out of Greenpeace because of his strong views. He’s been married four times and over the years has developed many enemies and not just in the whaling industry.
He founded Sea Shepherd in 1977 after being exiled from Greenpeace. In 1986 he intercepted whaling fleets and sank two whaling ships in a Reykjavík harbour in 2009. His flagship the Steve Irwin was damaged when it positioned itself on the slipway of Yushin Maru No.2. This ship was also damaged. He positioned his ship that way to prevent whales being loaded onto the deck and butchered.
A couple of years ago Watson was removed from the Sea Shepherd board. He called it a betrayal. As you can see he has an uncompromising attitude towards protecting whales and all the animal advocates will agree with this attitude because nothing else works.
He has been forced into taking direct and aggressive action to actually make a change because the years roll by with Japan making the feeble excuse that they are killing whales for scientific research. No one believes it but it continued because the international community did nothing about it.
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I read somewhere that the Japanese are gradually losing their interest in consuming whale meat. This it seems has led to the whaling industry for human consumption in Japan being subsidised by the government.
And Japan launched a new $45 million whaling megaship. The Japanese government expanded the lists of species it allowed commercial whalers to hunt. At this time Japan withdrew from the International Whaling Commission. They are now engaged in commercial whaling.
Watson is followed by animal advocates because of his extreme methods. He goes beyond Attenborough. He is a modern-day hero. A buccaneer on the high seas protecting whales.
But he’s been arrested on behalf of the Japanese in Greenland last month. Greenland is owned by Denmark which might surprise many people. He was arrested by Danish police in Nuuk, Greenland and faces extradition to Japan on criminal charges over his alleged involvement in action against the above-mentioned whaling vessel in 2010. The charges include “accomplice to assault” and ship trespass. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 15 years in jail.
President Macron of France pleaded with the Danes to release Watson to France where he was granted asylum in 2009. He lives with his wife, Yanna, in France and their two sons, Tiger and Murtagh, on a houseboat on the Seine.
For me, any sane person would agree that there is no place in the 21st century for whaling. It should be entirely banned across the board. Unfortunately, Japan continues to do it and it appears there’s no stopping them. That’s why captain Paul Watson, as mentioned, feels he must take extreme action. He must physically block the ships from killing and butchering whales for consumption.
While we shouldn’t generalise, the overwhelming consensus among the scientific community, environmental organisations, and many governments is that Japan’s whale hunting program is primarily driven by commercial interests rather than genuine scientific enquiry. Scientists say that there is a lack of independent verification of Japan’s research under their so-called scientific programs justifying killing whales.
And they say that there is questionable scientific methodology employed. There is inconsistency in Japan’s findings with established scientific knowledge and there is the availability of non-lethal research methods shunned by Japan in this instance.
And it’s important to remember that the International Court of Justice ruled against Japan’s whale hunting program in the Antarctic, specifically stating that it was not for scientific purposes. Although it doesn’t need a court to tell us that Japan is playing games with the international community. It’s all nonsense.
The only glimmer of hope on the horizon is that the Japanese are it seems, as mentioned, turning away from whale meat but in the meantime Paul Watson is doing something about this cruel killing.
Let’s be clear, whales are incredibly intelligent creatures. They have complex global structures; large brains and they use tools to hunt or manipulate their environment. Some research suggests that whales may possess self-awareness, a complex cognitive ability. And whales pass down knowledge and behaviours through generations indicating cultural learning. They are sentient creatures and they suffer enormous pain, I would argue, when they are killed by Japanese whalers.
It’s just brutal animal cruelty. There is no other way to describe it. I’ve just checked my statement that the Japanese are turning away from whale meat. And the answer is yes. There is a growing trend away from whale meat consumption in Japan, when it was once a staple in the Japanese diet. Several factors have contributed to its decline.
Economic change is one. Post World War II, whale meat was a valuable protein source. However, with Japan’s economic growth other protein options have become more readily available. There is also a generational shift with the younger generation in Japan being less inclined to eat well meet. They often view it as an outdated tradition. And I suspect there are more animal advocates among the younger population.
In addition, there is international pressure about which Japanese are aware and growing international criticism of Japan’s whaling practices. This has influenced public opinion.
Paul Watson has a lot of wealthy and celebrity associates within his network of friends and supporters. You can see them on this website. One of his backers is Dale Vince, the green energy businessman and Just Stop Oil donor. He first heard of Watson in 2010. He said, “I read about his exploits in the South Atlantic and I sent an email to his organisation in America saying can I send you some money. I’m just a big fan of his work”.
“Vince makes this former fugitive wanted by Interpol sound like a cuddly grandpa” a quote from The Sunday Times article by Katie Gatens.
Vince says that Paul Watson is a very peaceful person and that he is big on history. Vince insists that Paul Watson has never hurt anybody in his desire to protect the whales through direct action. But Vince said that Watson “absolutely puts himself, his crew, his ship in harms way in between the harpoons and the whales. I can understand why he’s got a bit of a cult following. He’s got all the ingredients of a cult leader, including a big white beard.”
He does have a big following and he is a hero to very many people because they all understand, as mentioned, that direct action is needed to make an impact in a well-established commercial activity based upon animal cruelty.
