Whale hunt update

[Guest guest]

Folks have been asking for info re IWC and the " quota. " Read on...

 

Dian

 

 

===== A message from the 'makahwhaling' discussion list =====

 

FROM WASHINGTON CITIZEN'S COASTAL ALLIANCE

--

 

Sekiu, WA 1:10pm

 

HUNT UPDATE

---------

 

The hunt continues. Unbelievably, after the use of deadly force and serious

injury of ODI crewmember Erin Abbott, the US Coast Guard is still escorting

the Makah whaling team out further to sea. ODI vessels are still shadowing

the Makah whalers and their escort, and vessels from the West Coast

Anti-Whaling Society are enroute from Victoria, BC.

 

Erin Abbott is listed in " satisfactory " condition at a Port Angeles hospital

after the ramming by a Coast Guard ship. ODI crewmember Erin O'Connell was

also arrested, and her jet ski was confiscated as well. We don't have

further information on her status at the moment, but will update you when we

do.

 

Calls are still needed! Demand a halt to the hunt! Here are the contact

numbers we have for the U.S. Coast Guard:

 

(206) 220- 7235

(800) 982-8813, extension 7235

(360) 645-2236 extension. 37

 

Also, calls are needed to Rep. Norm Dicks' office. After all, this is

happening in HIS district. Ask him to demand an immediate halt to the hunt,

and an investigation into the outrageous Coast Guard behavior this morning

and earlier this week. You might also ask him to make a statement as to why

he took over $11,000 from Makah lobbying firm Denny Miller and Associates in

the last few years. He has a lot of questions to answer regarding his

involvement in this issue!

 

Norm Dicks' phone number: (800) 947-NORM (6676)

 

Please let us know the responses you get from these offices!

*****

 

 

 

STATEMENT FROM REP. JACK METCALF (R-WA)

-------------------------

 

APRIL 20, 2000

 

" I have opposed the taxpayer-funded Makah whale hunt since it was first

proposed. In fact, I have filed a lawsuit to stop the hunt, which is still

being considered by the courts.

 

Everyone who understands this issue knows that the Makah hunt is the first

step toward returning to the terrible commercial exploitation of these

marine mammals. In its April 17 issue, Newsweek magazine reported on steps

being taken by whaling countries to reopen this barbaric, outdated practice.

When the Clinton-Gore administration financed the Makah whale hunt and

colluded with the pro-whaling nations of the International Whaling

Commission, our nation's government lost its moral authority to lead the

fight against killing whales for profit. This was truly a tragedy.

 

I believe strongly in the right of free expression of opinion guaranteed by

the Constitution. I also believe that the current circumstances surrounding

the hunt are endangering human lives. I find it unbelievable that the Coast

Guard felt the need to ram the craft of one of the anti-whaling protestors.

At the same time, all of our laws must be obeyed.

 

This incident underscores the intensity of emotions felt by parties on all

sides of the issue. I urge the Coast Guard to call a halt to the hunt until

my lawsuit is settled. A delay would give law enforcement officials time to

reevaluate their tactics to ensure the protection of all human life. "

 

 

 

STATEMENT BY SEA SHEPHERD CONSERVATION SOCIETY

---------------------

 

April 20, 2000

 

WHALE HUNT MUST BE HALTED WHILE COAST GUARD ACTIONS INVESTIGATED

Boats rammed, activists injured by USCG vessels as whale is harpooned

 

 

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society joins other whale activists in calling

for the immediate suspension of the Makah Indian tribe's whale hunting

agreement with the US government while the aggressive actions of the US

Coast Guard at the site of the hunt are investigated.

 

A Coast Guard vessel struck a jet ski outside Neah Bay, Washington, this

morning, running over the vessel and leaving activist Erin Abbott in the

water for several minutes before picking her up. Abbott was air-lifted to

Olympic Memorial hospital with a shoulder injury.

 

Abbott was maneuvering between the hunters and the whale, and effectively

prevented a lethal harpoon strike on a Gray whale. On Monday, the Coast

Guard repeatedly rammed and seized a World Whale Police vessel. Crewmember

Julie Woodyer, a director of the Vancouver Humane Society, was thrown to the

deck and knocked unconscious. She was treated for back pain at a local

hospital and released.

 

The Coast Guard has imposed a $250,000 fine and up to six years in prison

for violations of a 500-yard " exclusion zone " around the hunters by

activists attempting to prevent the killing of whales. Several activists

have been arrested for violating the zone and their vessels seized.

 

Contrary to early media reports, the whale Abbott was protecting was not

killed. The harpoon fell out and the whale escaped before hunters were able

to bring their customized .50-caliber rifle to bear. After running over

Abbott and her jet ski, the Coast Guard radioed an Ocean Defense

International vessel on the scene that they intended " to be more aggressive "

in enforcing the exclusion zone, reported ODI crewmember Tami Drake-Miller.

 

" The Coast Guard needs to brought under control, " said Sea Shepherd

president Paul Watson. " Their determination to enforce an illegal hunt and

help the Makah kill whales has escalated to the point of injuring activists

on the water. The hunt must be suspended immediately and a full

investigation of the USCG's actions initiated. "

 

The US Department of Commerce obtained an aboriginal Gray whale quota from

the International Whaling Commission in 1997, but avoided a ruling on the

Makah's eligibility to hunt under the conditions of aboriginal subsistence

whaling as determined by the IWC. The US Administration's unilateral

assignment of the quota to the Makah without that determination by the IWC

constitutes a violation of international conservation law.

*****

 

 

 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND CONTACT NUMBERS, VISIT:

 

http://www.stopwhalekill.org

*****

 

 

 

 

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