Paul Watson Shot During Clash with Japanese Whalers

Anti-whaling crusader and Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson was shot in the chest on Friday during yet another clash with a Japanese whaling ship in the Antarctic Ocean. Watson was struck just above the heart, according to the Sea Shepherd Society, but the bullet was stopped by a Kevlar vest that he had been wearing underneath his sweater.

"I was shot. There was a bullet hole right in my Kevlar vest," Watson said via SAT phone from his boat, the Steve Irwin. "The doctor who pulled it out said it was a bullet and it had mangled the anti-poaching badge pinned to my chest." 

At the time of the shooting, the Japanese whaling vessel Nisshin Maru was moving parallel to the Steve Irwin in stormy seas in Australia's Territorial Zone near Antarctica. According to Japan's Institute for Cetacean Research, activists on board the Sea Shepherd's boat Steve Irwin approached the Maru four times and threw several bottles containing butyric acid, or rancid butter, at the whaling vessel. Japanese coast guard officers responded by tossing at least seven "flash bangs"--loud, explosive grenades designed to cause disorientation--at the Irwin. Minoru Morimoto, the director of ICR, denied using stun grenades and that anyone had shot Watson. "His claim that we shot at him and he has the bullet that was stopped by his bullet-proof vest is more fiction for articles for the Australian media," he said in a statement released on the group's website. 

For his part, Watson remains undeterred. He and the crew are now planning to break off from the Nisshin Maru and head about 100 miles south to engage another Japanese whaling vessel, the Yusshin Maru. “It’s been a long campaign for us,” Watson said. “But it’s been an incredibly successful season and they haven’t gotten half their quota.”

Interestingly, a film crew from Animal Planet was on board during the incident. In a statement issued Saturday, the network said, “The events that have taken place were all captured by Animal Planet's producers and will be presented through the documentary series "Whale Wars," slated for U.S. broadcast this fall." In the meantime, you can watch video of some of the confrontation, as well as Watson digging a chunk of what looks like a mushroomed unjacketed hollowpoint from his Kevlar vest, at the Sea Shepherd Society's website here.
--Damon Tabor

Comments

[Shiro Nakatama]

Yay! I have more freinds. If so many people like to eat whatle meat why is it illegal in so many places? I was fortunate many years ago to work on a whaling boat. It was so fun. Like a sport with the whale. You have to stalk them and them, then send a harpoon into their bodies, then you have to electrocute them. It is so much fun to watch, when they try and get away, but they cant and they are all like 'ooww .. I am being electrocuted'..Zap hahah Zap zap!! Wow! Now that is what good living is.

We cut them up, their flesh just sort of falls off like butter on a knife. It is then that you see the gold! We in Japan, respect the whales allot, because they taste so very very good. And these days you don't have to worry about where your whale meat comes from, because it has all been scientiffically tested- a very good thing indeed.

I can see that mr. watson is lying scumbag, he is blue whale poo. He derserve to be shot. If he is going to prevent my family from eating.... whale meat... then he should should feel shame so the society banish him into a hallow dark cave. I hope a killerwhale eat him. He is a nasty nasty person. I bet he is a closet baby minke meat eater. Bastard.

It is my traditional and cultural right to eat baby humpback. Any many that stop that no longer deserve to be on a ship. It is american and australian people who are to blame for this. They can be nice like they have hollywood and surfers paradise but they think all wrong. We really need to get them to eat whale meat? Hey guys what do you think?

I know that you other posters all enjoy to eat whale like me, how can we prove to the world that it is ok to eat it? It just taste so good. I think I am going to start a blog to get this more attention. Who is with me? We can undercover the dirt on these pirate hound dogs, these anti-whaler freaks. WE will Show them for what they really are. People with no feelings. I bet they couldn't fire a harpoon at a pilot whale! They are weak! I bet they want to which is why they are so close to the whaling boats, just to smell whale blood. Silly want to- be whalers, but no balls to electrocute and carve the whales up!

[Steve]

I hope they sink the Nisshin Maru. Scientific research my ass.

[Rick]

Uhhh...isn't a hollowpoint bullet an armor-piercing round of ammunition? If he'd been shot with a hollowpoint, it would have gone straight through.

Unless, of course, it was that new super-kevlar that only militant wingnuts know about....

I call bullsh*t.

[Sarah Wise]

I am disgusted by the way the Australians/Americans are endangering lives of Japanese ship crews who are legally out there to catch small number of whales. I have neutral view when it comes to whaling, but illegally attacking fishermen/researchers, endangering their innocent lives, should not be tolerated. The Japanese are remaining professional while Aussies keep distorting the fact (i.e. that they were kidnapped, when they have illegally forced their way on board.) Paul Watson also lied about having been shot.. Why are their ship allowed out there? They have in the past sank a Spanish fishing boat by deliberately crashing into it. I hope international law enforcement organisations will stop their activity soon.

[Shiro Nakatama]

I am so glad you guys share my sentiments. I wish i could take a shot at an Aussie anti-whaler! Ha ha that would be fun, better than harpooning a baby humback! Whale meat tastes so very very good, if you ever ate humback you would understand . Some say whales endangered. Wales not dying off. Don't be silly! Norway understand Japan too. The rest of the world is not understanding. Whales must be scientifically tested and the only way to do that is to kill them, It is tradition for Japanese people to kill whales. Are you Aussies or Yanks going to tell us what to do with our tradition? I dont think so. Whales become a pest in the ocean. We eat the meat, which is a lucrative business, but is all for scientific testing. Whale meat is great, you should try some, its like eating something very precious! I ate a newborn baby minke a year ago. What taste! And I did if for traditional and cultural reasons, as well as the whale was scientifically tested, which makes me feel good. Now lets try and get the world whaling again. We could start up a chain like McDonalds, called McWhales and they serve Humback burgers. How cool would that be?!

[Jim]

watson is a lying scum, that is all..

[Andrew]

Can't say I feel sorry for that guy when he puts himself in that position. I dont see the problem with whale hunting either as long as they keep it under control.