Founder of Sea Shepherd Arrested in Germany

[Stacko]

FRANKFURT, Germany — The Canadian founder of an environmental activist group known for its confrontations with whalers and fishermen has been arrested in Germany for extradition to Costa Rica, where he is wanted for allegedly endangering a fishing boat in 2002, German prosecutors said Monday.

Paul Watson of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society was arrested Sunday at Frankfurt Airport on an international arrest warrant issued by Costa Rica, a spokesman for the local prosecutors’ office said.

“He is alleged to have used a ship to intimidate another vessel and put its crew at risk in 2002,” said the spokesman, Guenter Wittig.

[...]

http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/05/14/canadian-sea-shepherd-founder-arrested-in-germany/

 

[lionking]

I was going to start a thread about this. I hope the idiot gets serious time.

 

[Stacko]

I was going to start a thread about this. I hope the idiot gets serious time.

I wonder if they can use footage from Whale Wars as evidence against him? That'd be funny to see in court.

 

[Cleon]

I wonder if they can use footage from Whale Wars as evidence against him? That'd be funny to see in court.

I would hope that German courts have rules against torturing jurors.

 

[Primus]

He is an interesting case. I am strongly against whale hunting, I think it's abhorrant and serves no useful purpose.

However I always root for the whalers against this guy. I found it hilarious when they sunk his ship.
It just goes to show if you're loony enough, having a good cause in principal isn't enough if you're going to behave like a complete helmet all the time.

Reminds me of PETA a bit as they're another group people despise despite fundamentally being against animal cruelty.

 

[Eddie Dane]

Enlighten me.
What is causing people to have such a low opinion of this man?

I've only seen one of those Whale Wars episodes.
His ship stalking a Japanese whaler and trying to get between them and the whale.

I don't like fanatical enviro weenies.
But I'm on the fence about protecting whales from the Japanese consumer.
Can't they just get their fish from a frigging fish farm and make their kick-ass cameras and bondage porn in peace?

 

[Careyp74]

Enlighten me.
What is causing people to have such a low opinion of this man?

I've only seen one of those Whale Wars episodes.
His ship stalking a Japanese whaler and trying to get between them and the whale.

I don't like fanatical enviro weenies.
But I'm on the fence about protecting whales from the Japanese consumer.
Can't they just get their fish from a frigging fish farm and make their kick-ass cameras and bondage porn in peace?

I think the news article pretty much explains it. He was using his boat to cut off and harass other boats, putting the other crews in danger. This is very dangerous. There are more peaceful ways of protesting, which wasn't his obvious intent.

 

[Kevin_Lowe]

I think the news article pretty much explains it. He was using his boat to cut off and harass other boats, putting the other crews in danger. This is very dangerous. There are more peaceful ways of protesting, which wasn't his obvious intent.

If they don't want to be in danger they could always not kill whales. It's not like it serves any useful scientific or economic purpose.

 

[Locknar]

He is an interesting case. I am strongly against whale hunting, I think it's abhorrant and serves no useful purpose.

However I always root for the whalers against this guy. I found it hilarious when they sunk his ship.

That pretty much sums up how I feel re this.

 

[DC]

im proud to have donated money to them. I hope they get bigger ships that can sink whale hunter boats.

 

[DC]

I think the news article pretty much explains it. He was using his boat to cut off and harass other boats, putting the other crews in danger. This is very dangerous. There are more peaceful ways of protesting, which wasn't his obvious intent.

those other crews were endangering and harassing whales. there are less violent and less bloody ways to do whale research.

 

[Psiload]

They lost me when they started going after tuna fishermen.

Tuna? Really?

 

[NoahFence]

I think the news article pretty much explains it. He was using his boat to cut off and harass other boats, putting the other crews in danger. This is very dangerous. There are more peaceful ways of protesting, which wasn't his obvious intent.

And those peaceful ways are working soooo well.



I support Paul Watson and Sea Shepherd 100%.

 

[DC]

They lost me when they started going after tuna fishermen.

Tuna? Really?

Bluefin tuna?

 

[Seismosaurus]

Heh, this guy singlehanded turned me into a supporter of the whaling business with his TV show.

 

[casebro]

If they don't want to be in danger they could always not kill whales. It's not like it serves any useful scientific or economic purpose.

It's a multi million dollar slice of the Japanese economy.

And the whale harvest is well within the sustainable yield, so it isn't harmful to the ecology. Tuna, I'm not so sure.

 

[WildCat]

I can't believe it took this long. Don't you need to be licensed to be a ship captain? If so, how the hell does this assclown keep his?

 

[Chris_Halkides]

shorn bow

I think the news article pretty much explains it. He was using his boat to cut off and harass other boats, putting the other crews in danger. This is very dangerous. There are more peaceful ways of protesting, which wasn't his obvious intent.

It sounds as if this canal runs both ways. Link. "Bethune was at the helm of the Sea Shepherd boat when its bow was shorn off by Japanese whaling ship Shonan Maru 2 in waters off the frozen continent in January." I am not sure what transpired before this.

 

[Primus]

It sounds as if this canal runs both ways. Link. "Bethune was at the helm of the Sea Shepherd boat when its bow was shorn off by Japanese whaling ship Shonan Maru 2 in waters off the frozen continent in January." I am not sure what transpired before this.

You can watch the video here

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/9069635.stm

Those big boats don't brake very quickly if you dart a much smaller craft in it's way.

 

[Macgyver1968]

Enlighten me.
What is causing people to have such a low opinion of this man?

I've only seen one of those Whale Wars episodes.
His ship stalking a Japanese whaler and trying to get between them and the whale.

I don't like fanatical enviro weenies.
But I'm on the fence about protecting whales from the Japanese consumer.
Can't they just get their fish from a frigging fish farm and make their kick-ass cameras and bondage porn in peace?

I'll be happy to enlighten you on why I personally hate Sea Shepard and Paul Watson. For one thing...they are vigilantes...they take the law into their own hands..rather than letting the appropriate authorities deal with it. They also engage in extremely dangerous behavior that puts not only their own crew, but the crew of other ships at risk. Here's a video of them ramming another ship:


This was not an accident...it was an intentional act. They could have easily knocked a hole in the other ship's hull, causing it's sinking...and possibly causing the death of some or all of it's crew.


Here's another one where they ram a tuna cage, and injure two fisherman:



They are quite proud of destruction they cause... Here's a photo of the side of their ship where they brag about the number of vessels they have sunk, in the same way fighter pilots display their kills on the sides of their aircraft :

They are a dangerously reckless group of Eco-terrorists...and it's miracle they haven't killed someone yet.