Fw: Makah Whale Hunt is Currently Underway Again

[Guest guest]

-

Michael Kundu <projseawolf

<Bumelia

Monday, April 17, 2000 10:57 PM

Makah Whale Hunt is Currently Underway Again

 

 

> KIRO TV and other regional media report that the Makah tribe has formally

> begun hunting gray whales again this morning. A second newsteam contacted

> one of Project SeaWolf boardmembers to ask whether a boat was available to

> conduct on-site photography of the proceedings.

>

> Reports indicate that the Parker family as been extended a Makah whaling

> permit for the next 10 days. One on-site protest boat has been seized by

> the Coast Guard after being bumped by a Coast Guard vessel. It is

suspected

> that the remaining ones will be forcefully removed prior to any further

> whaling effort. This season, with a decreased media presence and

> international attention, it is suspected that the Coast Guard and

> enforcement agencies will not permit any activists to remain on the water

> once efforts are made to kill a whale. It appears that traditional

> anti-whaling activism, as employed last spring, will not be capable of

> stopping the hunt this spring.

>

> Internal reports also indicate that no substantial ritual preparation

> occured prior to this hunt. The recent death of tribal youth and

> whaler-in-preparation Greg Loomis, under reported conditions of drug and

> alcohol usage, also bring skepticism on the tribe's arguement that the

hunt

> has effectively " purified their youth. " The Makah whale hunt has

> deteriorated to become an issue of native sovereignty against anti-whaling

> opposition. The hunt is not about tradition nor culture -- it is solely

> about harvesting whales and acheiving and 'end-run' around international

> whale conservation efforts.

>

> SeaWolf will report on tomorrows proceedings as they occur.

>

Project SeaWolf

> P.O. Box 987, Marysville, WA 98270

> Visit our homepage at...

> http://home.earthlink.net/~projseawolf/ecos.htm

> Be sure to visit our ECOS site if you're planning an eco-tourism or

> adventure trip to the northwest!

>