Graphic Footage Shows Mass Slaughter of Pilot Whales in the Faroe Islands

Graphic Footage Shows Mass Slaughter of Pilot Whales in the Faroe Islands

 Friday, 24 July 2015

Three Sea Shepherd Crew members Arrested; Another Two Detained
More Face Charges For Attempting To Save Whales

UPDATE - We have received new information this morning:

• All five Sea Shepherd crewmembers who were detained overnight have been arrested.
• Approx. 250 pilot whales were killed yesterday.  *111 killed at Bøur  *130-150 killed at Tórshavn

We will provide updates as they come through.

Whale hunters in a sea of red. Photo: Eliza MuirheadYesterday, approximately two hundred pilot whales were slaughtered on the killing beaches of the Danish Faroe Islands. The slaughters, known by the traditional Faroese term ‘grindadráp,’ took place over two separate drive hunts which ended at the Bøur and Tórshavn killing beaches, making this the single bloodiest day in the archipelago this year.

Three Sea Shepherd crewmembers from South Africa, Belgium and Luxembourg have been arrested and another two, fromItaly and France, have been detained for standing in defense of the whales that were targeted for slaughter.

At approximately 1400 local time, a massive pod of around 150 pilot whales was spotted close to the Mykines in the west of the Faroe Islands archipelago. A flotilla of small boats drove the pod to Bøur. The awaiting crowds of killers then dragged the animals violently on to the killing beach.

Sea Shepherd Land Team Leader, Rosie Kunneke of South Africa, and Christophe Bondue of Belgium , also of the land team, were arrested at the Bøur slaughter. Police tackled the pair to the ground after they ran onto the beach, as the pod was being driven to the shore.

Kunneke was held facedown into the sand and rocks as crowds stormed the beach to get to the pilot whales. Sea Shepherd volunteers were able to capture graphic photographs and video footage of the arrests and the slaughter that followed.

CEO of Sea Shepherd Global, Captain Alex Cornelissen, has said, “Anyone who knows Rosie knows how passionately she cares for animals. Seeing Rosie and Christophe thrown to the ground today for defending these whales, and then dragged away as the carnage began, was an absolutely heart-wrenching sight.”

A further two crewmembers of the Sea Shepherd fast trimaran Brigitte Bardot, Marianna Baldo of Italy andXavier Figarella of France, were also detained at Bøur. The pair was in the Brigitte Bardot’s tender at the time they were apprehended. Police have not yet confirmed if Baldo and Figarella will be facing charges.

Captain of the Brigitte Bardot, Wyanda Lublink, reports that the Danish Navy vessels HDMS Triton and HDMS Knud Rasmussen were both in the region at the time of the Bøur slaughter.

“It was perfectly clear to me that the Danish Navy was present at Bøur to guard the grindadráp, and that the slaughter would proceed with the full consent of the Danish Navy. How Denmark - an anti-whaling member nation of the European Union, subject to laws prohibiting the slaughter of cetaceans – can attempt to justify its collaboration in this slaughter is incomprehensible ” said Captain Lublink.

Then, at approximately 2230 local time, Faroese media announced the commencement of a second grindadráp at Nólsoyarfirði, west of the capital of Tórshavn. Reports indicate that approximately 50 pilot whales were herded from Nólsoy onto the killing beach at Tórshavn by 40 boats, and eventually slaughtered.

Sea Shepherd land team volunteer, Kevin Schiltz of Luxembourg, was arrested at the Tórshavn slaughter. A second Sea Shepherd land team volunteer, Sidney Marchand of France, filmed the arrest. However, Faroese police held Sidney and demanded that he delete the footage before they would release him.

A legal representative has been brought-in to act on behalf of the arrested and detained Sea Shepherd volunteers.

The double-slaughter began during the court hearing for another two Sea Shepherd volunteers. Susan Larsen of the United States and Tom Strerath of Germany appeared in court yesterday following their arrest on Monday. During the proceedings, the prosecution informed the court that the pair has been charged with breaching the Faroese Pilot Whaling Act.

Larsen has been granted permission to return to the United States until the next court date.

Captain Cornelissen has stated, “I am incredibly proud of the brave efforts of the Sea Shepherd crews today. In the face of adversity, they stood strong, for the whales and for the oceans.”

Sea Shepherd is currently in the Faroe Islands for the organization’s sixth Pilot Whale Defense Campaign,Operation Sleppid Grindini.

Visit 

Operation Sleppid Grindini

site for more information.

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

DISTRICT COURT REJECTS WHALERS CLAIM FOR REMEDIAL SANCTIONS

June 19, 2015

District Court Rejects Whalers Claim for Remedial Sanctions

File photo: Sea Shepherd small boat crew distracts
the Yushin Maru No. 2 from aggressively tailing
the Steve Irwin
Photo: Sea Shepherd/Billy DangerA federal district court in Seattle has rejected a request by the Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR) to impose stiff remedial contempt sanctions upon Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, founder Captain Paul Watson, and six former members of the Sea Shepherd Board of Directors, and declined to try to force Sea Shepherd to seek repossession of former property.

This ruling comes on the heels of more than two years of litigation over whether Sea Shepherd, Watson, and the former board members were in contempt of a December 2012 preliminary injunction imposed by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The injunction required Sea Shepherd to stay at least 500 yards away from ICR’s whaling fleet while it illegally killed whales in the Southern Ocean. Sea Shepherd USA discontinued all involvement in the Southern Ocean whale-protection campaigns after the injunction, but the campaigns were continued by foreign Sea Shepherd entities, including Sea Shepherd Australia and Sea Shepherd Netherlands.

After rejecting the recommendation of a special master, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found that Sea Shepherd USA was in contempt of the preliminary injunction as a result of the actions of these foreign entities, in part because it had transferred one ship, the MV Bob Barker, to Sea Shepherd Netherlands after the injunction was issued. The Ninth Circuit also directed that Sea Shepherd pay ICR for its “damages” as a result of the alleged contempt during Operation Zero Tolerance in 2012-2013.

Although Sea Shepherd recently settled the action for contempt damages in the Ninth Circuit, ICR also filed a separate action in district court seeking so-called “remedial sanctions” that ICR asked to be imposed on Sea Shepherd to “ensure future compliance with the Injunction.” ICR specifically asked the court to impose remedial sanctions of $2 million upon Watson, $2 million upon Sea Shepherd, and $500,000 upon six former members of the Sea Shepherd Board of Directors. In addition, ICR asked the court to require Sea Shepherd to retake control and possession off the ships and equipment that the organization granted to foreign Sea Shepherd entities, including three ships granted long before the injunction.

The MV Brigitte Bardot was granted to Sea Shepherd Australia in December 2010. The MV Sam Simon was granted to Sea Shepherd Australia in October 2012. The MV Steve Irwin was granted to Sea Shepherd Netherlands in March 2012. The MV Bob Barker was granted to Sea Shepherd Netherlands, which already had a partial ownership interest in the vessel, in January 2013, shortly after the injunction was issued.

U.S. District Judge James L. Robart reviewed ICR’s requests and found them largely without merit. He noted in his ruling that “the court finds that the Institute’s requested sanctions are inappropriate because they either seek to coerce behavior beyond the scope of the Ninth Circuit’s injunction or impose excessive fines.”

The court found that ICR had not established that Sea Shepherd would have any basis for attempting to retake possession of its previously owned vessels because “there is no indication that the vessels and equipment are not being used by their respective owners ‘to support [an] ongoing mission of global marine wildlife conservation,” as the original grants required.

Judge Robart declined to impose any sanctions against the former Sea Shepherd Board of Directors. He also rejected ICR’s request that Sea Shepherd and Watson pay remedial sanctions of $2 million each. Instead he imposed a suspended fine of $5,000 on Watson and $10,000 on Sea Shepherd, only to be awarded if either party were found in contempt of the Ninth Circuit’s ruling in the future. These suspended fines will be lifted entirely if Watson and Sea Shepherd file affidavits within a month indicating their intent to abide by the injunction.

“Sea Shepherd and Paul Watson always intended to abide by the injunction, and fully intend to abide by the injunction in the future, so they will have no problem making this representation to the court,” said Claire Loebs Davis, an attorney representing Sea Shepherd and Watson in the ICR litigation.

The dispute arises from Japan’s long-running violation of the International Whaling Commission’s (IWC’s) ban on commercial whaling. Since the 1980s, Japan has granted “scientific research” permits to ICR, allowing ICR to kill more than 1,000 whales in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary each year, including humpback whales and endangered fin whales. Last year, the International Court of Justice confirmed what Sea Shepherd has long maintained – and the world has long known – that Japan’s research rationale is a sham, and its whale hunts violate international law.

SOURCE

The TRUTH will set you FREE.