SEA SHEPHERD ACTION ALERT:
Japan Arrests Crewmembers, Seizes Cameras, Film & Video
Dear Sea Shepherd Members and Friends,
If you've been visiting our website regularly and/or been receiving emails
from us, then you're well aware that Sea Shepherd is currently in the midst
of an urgent life and death campaign in Taiji, Japan, to stop the annual
Japanese dolphin slaughter.
Since late September, several Sea Shepherd volunteers have been Taiji,
Japan, risking their lives to document and try to stop the dolphin drive
which claims the lives of thousands of dolphins and small whales each year.
Despite death threats, police harassment and constant hardship, the Sea
Shepherd crewmembers have remained in the area on a round-the-clock vigil.
On October 6th, Sea Shepherd crewmembers exposed the atrocities of the Taiji
dolphin slaughter to the world by providing major media the gory images and
video of the hunt (can be seen at our website). This made headlines around
the world and fueled a global protest on Nov. 4th in 22 cities. Another
protest is planned for Dec 10th - details are below.
Although the dolphin hunt continues in Taiji, the ruthless fishermen are not
able to kill as many as last year due to Sea Shepherd's direct intervention
and the embarrassing media coverage provided by our documentation.
Rather than helplessly witness and document more dolphins being killed, on
November 18 (in Japan) two Sea Shepherd crewmembers - Allison Lance-Watson
of the USA and Alex Cornelisson of the Netherlands - jumped into the frigid
waters and swam for an hour to untie and sink the nets penning a pod of
dolphins awaiting slaughter. Together Allison and Alex were able to save the
lives of 15 dolphins by creating an escape route back to the open sea.
Both crewmembers were immediately arrested by police when they swam on-shore
and taken to a jail in nearby Shingu. The arrest left two other Sea
Shepherd crewmembers to continue the campaign in Taiji - Nik Hensey of the
USA and Thomas Heineman of Germany. Nik has been in Taiji for over 2
months.
During the evening of Wednesday, November 19 (in Japan), Japanese police
raided the trailer park where the Sea Shepherd crew are based in Taiji.
The Shingu police ordered Nik Hensey and Thomas Heineman to leave the
trailer. The police then entered and boxed up all the property in the
trailer including cameras, film, clothing and a laptop computer, leaving
them stranded in a hostile village in Japan without personal assets.
Neither of the men was charged with a crime.
The police have continued to hold Allison and Alex Cornelisson in the jail
at Shingu. They have not been allowed to communicate with any persons
outside of the jail. Sea Shepherd has been trying to reach them through
diplomatic channels.
In defense of the horrifically cruel slaughter of the defenseless dolphins
at Taiji, the Japanese are exercising a police-state approach to any person
who attempts to document the atrocities - it is now illegal to photograph or
film the slaughter of dolphins and small whales.
**WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP**
Contact the Japanese government offices below and request that they
immediately:
1) Release Allison Lance-Watson and Alex Cornelisson from jail and drop any
charges.
2) Return the personal property, cameras, film and documentation belonging
to the Sea Shepherd crew in Japan.
3) Reverse any new law or regulation which makes it illegal to photograph,
film, or videotape the dolphin slaughter.
4) Permanently stop the barbaric slaughter of dolphins and whales in Taiji
and all coastal fishing villages in Japan.
Japanese Embassies and Consulate Offices - To find a Japanese embassy or
consulate office near you, link here:
http://www.mofa.go.jp/about/emb_cons/mofaserv.html
Mr. Yoshiki Kimura, the governor of Wakayama
Prefectural Office of Wakayama
1-1 Komatsubaradouri, Wakayama-shi
Wakayama-ken, 640-8269 Japan
Tel: +81-73-441-2034 Fax:+81-73-423-9500
Email: teigen-s@office.wakayama.go.jp
Prime Minister of Japan
Mr. Junichiro Koizumi,
1-6-1 Nagata-cho 1 Chome
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. 100-8968 JAPAN
Tel:+81-3-3581-2361
Send an e-message by completing the form on this webpage:
http://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/forms/comment.html
ALSO CONTACT the US STATE DEPT and urge it to put pressure on the Japanese
government:
http://contact-us.state.gov/
AND
http://contact-us.state.gov/ask_form_cat/ask_form_foreign.html
*DEC. 10 INTERNATIONAL PROTEST AGAINST DOLPHIN SLAUGHTER*
Sea Shepherd is organizing another "International Day of Protest Against
Japanese Dolphin Slaughter" for December 10th at Japanese Consulates around
the world. This will compliment to our successful world-wide demonstration
held on Nov. 4 and keep the pressure on the Japanese government. For more
information, please visit our Taiji webpage:
http://www.seashepherd.org/taiji.shtml
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is an international marine conservation
organization dedicated to the enforcement of international conservation law
and to campaigns designed to actively protect marine wildlife and
ecosystems.
Sea Shepherd welcomes your support. If you would like to donate
confidentially on-line with a credit card, please visit our online donation
page: http://www.seashepherd.org/donate.shtml Or call our office: USA
360-370-5650.
TO UNSUBSCRIBE FROM THIS EMAIL LIST: Please send an email to
seashepherd@seashepherd.org with subject line "Unsubscribe" and you will be
taken off the list ASAP. Sorry for any inconvenience receiving our email
may have caused.