Sea Shepherd Launches Vegan Anti-Whaling Campaign against Japan's whaling

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Sea Shepherd Launches First Vegan Anti-Whaling

Campaign

 

MALIBU, California, November 18, 2002 (ENS) - In

December 2002, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society will

embark on a campaign to oppose the Japanese whaling

fleet in Antarctica.

 

Departing Auckland, New Zealand on December 4, Captain

Paul Watson will take the Sea Shepherd's ship the

" Farley Mowat " and 45 volunteers on a two month long

voyage across the icy waters of Antarctica's Southern

Ocean in an attempt stop the slaughter of whales in

the Southern Ocean Sanctuary.

 

The crew of the Farley Mowat will be the first

completely vegan crew to voyage to the Southern

continent, says Watson. " I don't want to hear the same

tired old argument from the Japanese about how

whale-savers eat cows but save whales, " he said.

 

" The Japanese say there is no difference between

whales and cows, " argued Watson. " There are of course,

plenty of differences, and the most important

difference is that the Antarctic Minke whale is an

endangered species, as listed by the Convention on the

International Trade in Endangered Species. (CITES).

 

" However, if the Japanese see us as hypocrites for

eating meat from cows and not from whales, we have

effectively removed this charge of hypocrisy by

declaring the Farley Mowat as a meat free zone. "

 

A vegan (pronounced VEE-gun) is someone who avoids

using or consuming animal products. While vegetarians

avoid flesh foods, vegans also avoid dairy and eggs,

as well as fur, leather, wool, down, and cosmetics or

chemical products tested on animals.

 

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has always made

vegan and vegetarian meals available to the crews of

its various ships. Still, meat has been available to

non-vegans and vegetarians in the past, although the

organization has had a policy of not serving fish.

 

Watson says he and members of the Sea Shepherd Society

are concerned that " some 50 percent of fish taken from

the sea is utilized as food for farm animals. "

Fishmeal is used to raise chickens, cows, pigs, and

salmon. Large quantities of tuna is fed to domestic

cats.

 

" With our oceans dying, with numerous fish species on

the brink of extinction, with the proliferation of

PCB's, mercury, and other heavy metals polluting the

world's fish, it is time for humanity to question this

horrendous destruction, " Watson says. The Sea Shepherd

crew intends to exemplify this concern by adopting an

exclusively vegan diet for its campaigns.

 

While the Japanese maintain they are taking a self

imposed quota of 440 minke whales under the scientific

research provisions of the International Whaling

Commission regulations, Watson calls their whaling

activities illegal.

 

He says, " These whalers will be breaking laws that

govern whaling by the International Whaling

Commission, International Laws of the Sea, Antarctic

Environmental Protection Act, The Convention of

Antarctic Marine Living Resources, and The World

Charter for Nature. "

 

 

 

 

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