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Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
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Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) is a vigilante international non-governmental environmentalist organization which is dedicated to combating the menace of whaling through direct action. SSCS has its own fleet of ships which they use to conduct raids and engage in frontal combat with whaling ships. These exploits are documented in the "reality" television series Whale Wars.[1]
Paul Watson founded Sea Shepherd after leaving Greenpeace in the 1970s, when Greenpeace rejected his preference for eco-terrorism against seal and whale hunters.[2]
Tactics[edit]
The SSCS is hardly a peaceful organization, with this preference for violent action being a major reason for Watson's split with Greenpeace. Sample tactics include use of butyric acid (AKA rancid butter) and propeller fouling ropes against whaling ships, use of limpet mines without regard for collateral damage against non-whaling ships, and ramming a tuna boat and passing it off as a "glancing blow".
Needless to say, they are treading on thin ice.
Effects[edit]
But is it effective? In general, probably not. They might slow down whaling and make it more expensive, but it wouldn't be profitable even without them, and the decline in Japanese whaling probably would happen without them since few people in Japan actually want to eat whale. They also make it impossible for the Japanese political establishment to make plans to end whaling subsidies without feeling like they'll be skewered by the media for literally "letting the (eco-)terrorists win", by making the issue "Us vs. Them" and an issue of whose culture is morally right instead of the more easily resolved "Nobody wants to buy it" vs. "But it's traditional".
It's not certain whether it is due to Sea Shepherd's propaganda or not, but for some reason, the Japanese bureaucracy's strictures have led to the decision by Icelandic whalers not to catch fin whales
anymore. Now that this market is gone, there's no reason to continue. Minke whales will probably still be hunted for the domestic, i.e. Icelandic, market.
Board of Directors[edit]
The chair of Sea Shepherd's Board of Directors is model Pamela Anderson and the president of the Board is a developer (re)named Pritam Singh, who has been criticized as profiting from owning captive dolphins.[3][4] Mr. Singh's website disputes the claim, stating: "Please note that The Village at Hawks Cay is a Single Family Development independently managed by Village at Hawks Cay Homeowners['] Association. The Village at Hawks Cay, since it's [sic] inception in 1996, through it's [sic] sale in October 2002, and to the present date, has never been and is not a part of the ownership or management of the hotel known as Hawk's [sic] Cay Resort. The Singh Group declined any involvement with the hotel and resort management in part due to its concern of hotels' keeping of captive Dolphins."[5]
See also[edit]
External links[edit]
References[edit]
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