Before I give you the recent story let us look at the Paul Watson Story of confrontation and violence.


Sea Shepherd Review ...... including extracts from previous editions of the High North News
Sea Shepherd's Record of Violence

# 1977: Paul Watson, one of the founder members of Greenpeace, was expelled from the organisation after a campaign against sealing during which he threw the sealers’ clubs and skins into the sea. His actions temporarily cost Greenpeace their tax-exemption status in the US.

# 1977: Paul Watson establishes the “Sea Shepherd” organisation.

# 1979: A Sea Shepherd vessel rams the whaler “Sierra”.

# 1980: The “Sierra” is sunk in Lisbon harbour with the help of limpet mines. Sea Shepherd claims responsibility.

# 1981: Sea Shepherd sinks the two whaling vessels, Ibsa I and Ibsa II, in the Spanish harbour of Viga (Sole source Sea Shepherd. This has not been confirmed by any other source)
.

# 1986: Sea Shepherd activists shoot at Faroese police with a line rifle and try to sink their rubber dinghies.

The vessel “Sea Shepherd” was ordered to leave Faroese territorial waters after attempting to obstruct the Faroese pilot whale harvest. The vessel ignored the order, and Faroese police tried unsuccessfully to board the ship. In the police report of Oct. 7,1986, it says: “One of the rubber dinghies was attacked directly by a so called “Speed Line” line rifle. The attack is considered to have endangered the lives of the police crew members seriously ... also, signal flares containing phosphorous (a substance which both burns and cauterizes) was thrown at the police. At a later stage the Sea Shepherd used so called “toads” (i.e. rotating iron spikes, pointed and sharp at both ends), against the rubber dinghies .. petrol was poured over the side of the ship ... whereupon signal flares were thrown from the “Sea Shepherd” in a miscarried attempt to set the petrol on fire.” Sea Shepherd accused the Faroese police of having shot at them with rifles. The police emphasize in their report that they only used tear gas and gas cartridges from shotguns.

# 1986: Sea Shepherd claims responsibility for the sinking of two whaling vessels in Reykjavik, Iceland, and for malicious damage to the whaling station not far from the town. The act was carried out by two US citizens, one of them, Rodney Corronado, is now wanted in the US for several incidents of serious animal rights terrorism.

# 1988: Paul Watson arrives in Iceland demanding to be held responsible for the sinking of the whaling vessels in Reykjavik in 1986. He is arrested and held for questioning. He realizes that he can risk facing several years imprisonment. In a press release from the Icelandic Ministry of Justice it says: “At questioning Paul Watson has admitted that he has given some remarks that connect him with the sabotage, but in spite of this he now claims that he neither took part in the planning nor the execution of the sabotage.” There was no evidence incriminating Watson. He was ordered to leave the country and declared persona non grata in Iceland

# 1991: Mr A. Ferreira, A US crew member on a Mexican fishing vessel, reports to his senator that Sea Shepherd rammed his vessel causing considerable damage. Some of Sea Shepherd’s crew were armed with rifles. Senator John Seymour replies: “Your situation does not fall under my jurisdiction. I have therefore forwarded your letter to the American Tunaboat Association.”

# 1991: Scott Trimmingham, president of Sea Shepherd quits in protest. “We had rules about not hurting anyone, about not using weapons. I left because those rules and that philosophy seems to be changing,” he said to “Outside” magazine (Sept. 1991).

Paul Watson admits that there are arms on board “Sea Shepherd”. “We confront dangerous people. As the captain, it is my responsibility to protect the lives of my crew ... Therefore, I have prepared myself for the possibility of defending my crew in a situation that could go never occur, but if it does I will use firearms to first intimidate and then to defend,” said Watson to the Los Angeles Free Weekly (April 24, 1992).

Seattle Times columnist Alston Chase comments thus on Sea Shepherds relationship to weapons: “The business of Sea Shepherd is confrontation, whereby these sailor activists try to provoke others to attack. Crying self-defence in these circumstances is like the gunfighter who starts a quarrel to justify duelling his enemy.” (The Seattle Times, July 1, 1991).

# 1992: Sea Shepherd makes unsuccessful attempts at ramming three Costa Rican fishing vessels. In a written complaint to the local authorities the fishermen report that the Sea Shepherd crew shot at them with bullets containing a red substance, hitting two of them and causing them great pain.

# 1992: Sea Shepherd makes unsuccessful attempt at scuttling the combined minke whaling and fishing vessel "Nybræna" at her moorings in the Lofoten Islands. The vessel was salvaged, but the water had caused considerable damage.

# 1993: Paul Watson orders the crew on board the Sea Shepherd vessel “Edward Abbey” (formerly US Navy) to open cannon fire at a Japanese fishing vessel.

The following transcript stems from the 1993 Yorkshire Television documentary “Defenders of the Wild - Ocean Rider”

Paul Watson (over the radio): We are going to ram you!
Stand clear!

A Taiwanese drift-netter (over the radio): “Why are you
crushing our ship?”

Paul Watson: “You are killing too many dolphins ..
and you insulted us by calling us creeps.”

From another confrontation with a Japanese fishing vessel:

Narrator: Sea Shepherd is ready to ram again.
Now Paul Watson wants the Edward Abbey to fire directly
at the drift-netters.

Watson: “Fire a couple in the stern right at the water line.
Nobody’s there.”

Narrator: “To the relief of many of the crew members the
order is not carried out. The Edward Abbey fires a cannon
shot across its bow. Still the Japanese ship does not stop."

# 1993: Sea Shepherd makes an unsuccesful attempt at scuttling the combined minke whaling and fishing vessel "Senet" at her moorings in Gressvik. The vessel was salvaged, but the water had caused some damage.

# 1993: Sea Shepherd concludes that the organisation has sunk 8 ships and rammed and damaged a further 6.

Dismissed from the IWC
After the sinking of the Icelandic whaling vessels in 1986, Sea Shepherd lost its status as observer at the IWC. The organisation claims that it is merely enforcing IWC rules. In February 1994, IWC Secretary, Ray Gambell, declared to NTB (the Norwegian Telegram Agency) that the IWC and all its member states ardently condemn Sea Shepherd’s acts of terrorism.

Now listen to Watson's hypocrites whine because the RCMP didn't make the mistakes that the other police units made with Watson because they know of the Sea Shepherd's history of violence.




Canadian Press
Stunned animal rights activists protest arrests at gunpoint north of Cape Breton
21 hours ago
http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5g0HM6eVJECSsoXpoPODumGR3Pl4Q

SYDNEY, N.S. — Stunned and angry crew from the anti-sealing vessel
Farley Mowat emerged from a Cape Breton jail Sunday, maintaining the
dramatic seizure of their ship by a black-clad RCMP squad brandishing
submachine-guns violated international law.

The Mounties' elite marine team was called in Saturday by federal
Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn two weeks after a group of seal
hunters complained that the Mowat came dangerously close to them in
the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

The flat-black, 54-metre ship, operated by the U.S.-based Sea Shepherd
Conservation Society, was towed Sunday to a secure jetty in Sydney,
where a few dozen curious but quiet onlookers snapped souvenir photos.

David Nickarz, the Mowat's engineer, said Canada had no right to board
the ship and arrest the 17 crew members because the Dutch-registered
vessel was in international waters, where Canadian rules don't apply.

"But I guess the people with the guns had a different opinion," he
said in an interview with The Canadian Press. "We've been marooned
here in Sydney by the Canadian government."

Crew member Merilee Nyland, one of the six activists who spent the
night in a cold jail cell after refusing to submit to immigration
checks, said the arrest of the crew in the Cabot Strait was traumatic.

"I came around a corner and all of sudden there were three men with
guns in my face," said the 23-year-old from Arlington, Wash.

David Jonas, a New Hampshire resident, said some of his shipmates were
handcuffed and told they all faced charges.

"We were placed under arrest, forced to lie down on the deck," he said
Sunday. "We were then escorted to the stern of the ship and kept under
armed guard ... Canada did not have a right to board us and bring us
to Sydney."

Earlier, the Mowat's captain and chief officer made brief appearances
in a Sydney courtroom to face charges under federal marine mammal
regulations and the Fisheries Act.

Captain Alexander Cornelissen - who hails from the Netherlands - and
First Officer Peter Hammarstedt are accused of steering the Mowat to
within 900 metres of the hunt. That's an offence under federal
regulations unless an observer's permit has been granted. The Mowat
does not have one.

The two men were granted bail and each must post $5,000.

The charges could result in fines of up to $100,000 or up to one year
in jail, or both. The case resumes May 1 and the two accused are free
to leave the country once they post bail, their lawyer said.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, led by environmental crusader
Paul Watson, has described the seizure and arrests as an "act of war."

Watson, who was in New York when the RCMP launched their speedy
Zodiacs from two coast guard vessels, was making his way to Cape
Breton by car Sunday night.

His group took a personal swipe at Hearn on its website.

"In his zeal to kiss the bottoms of the seal-killing crowd, he has
thrown reason out the window ... Loyola Hearn is certainly the latest
Nufie joke and the joke is about to backfire in his face."

Canada's provocative move came on the same day that the largest part
of the annual hunt opened off the north coast of Newfoundland in a
vast and forbidding area known as the Front.

Hearn said he had to take action before someone was killed on the ice.

"If I had let that go ahead, if the boat had gone to the front, if
somebody had gotten shot, if somebody had gotten killed, who'd be to
blame? I would," he told CTV. "So we acted."

He also rejected the claim that the Mowat was beyond Canada's reach,
saying the Fisheries Act gives him the authority to take action beyond
Canada's 12-nautical-mile territorial limit.

The Mowat will be detained in Sydney for as long at it takes Transport
Canada officials to conduct a full inspection, Hearn said.

That means Watson's group will remain on the sidelines as the bulk of
the hunting gets underway - a political plus for Hearn, who represents
Newfoundland in the federal cabinet.

In Sydney, one man among the crowd at harbourside said his reason for
coming to the docks was simple: "Just to watch an international
incident."

The man, who declined to give his name, said the activists were
"making a nuisance of themselves."

Sydney resident Dave MacNeil said he supported Ottawa's actions, which
have attracted international attention.

"I don't think they're accomplishing too much other than putting
people in danger."

In Newfoundland, the head of the Canadian Sealers Association said the
federal government "did the right and proper thing."

Frank Pinhorn of Conception Bay South, N.L., said the ice floes are no
place for observers.

"It's going to come to a point where someone is going to lose their
patience, they're going to be a little bit edgy and they're going to
react," said Pinhorn.

Throughout the weekend, Hearn said he was taking steps to ensure the
safety of seal hunters, but he also heaped scorn on Watson's group.

"These are a bunch of money-sucking manipulators," Hearn told a news
conference in Ottawa on Saturday. "They're sole aim is to try to suck
as much money out of the pockets of people who really don't know
what's going on."

Hearn said the Mowat came within nine metres of a group sealers at one
point on March 30, shattering floes as sealers scrambled to get back
to their small boat.

Despite Hearn's insistence that Canada acted within its jurisdiction,
the Fisheries Department has confirmed that on March 29 - one day
after the hunt started - Foreign Affairs issued a diplomatic note to
the Netherlands requesting help dealing with the Mowat "as it is
flying a Dutch flag."

A spokesman for the Dutch foreign ministry said the department was
looking into the matter.

Under federal rules, seal hunters can take up to 275,000 harp seals
this season, but low pelt prices and steep fuel costs have made the
hunt a money-loser for many hunters. As a result, far fewer seals are
expected to be slaughtered this year.


Now you know why the RCMP never took any chances with the Sea Shepherd.

Looks to me like both topics are the same content.

pretty sure the rcmp doesnt have or use sub machine guns. but i could be wrong

i wouldn't count on that derek
they dang well better be well armed fooling with nuts like that!

I suspect the RCMP has teams similar to our SWAT teams, and they carry submachine guns.

GOOD JOB, MOUNTIES.

I say, hang em high, and if that don't work, hang em higher.

Folks in the maritimes should follow B.C. trappers and local businesses back a few years when the same terrorists tried to subvert the wolf cull, They were denied fuel, lodging, accomodations and vehicles,
They ended up making a fake video of Watson & his sucks snowshoeing along the highway pretending to be deep in the wilderness, chasing the wolf hunting crews.
Havn,t seen a hair of those money suckers in the area since!

Then you have the Beatle & his high priced witch, That came all the way from jolly old England , on their fuel sucking jet, and all the make us hero,s crew, who took advantage of Canadian maritime hospitality, living in luxury and going out on the ice packs to lay down on the ice beside a worm infested seal pup and nearly getting bit in the process, to raise money for the cuddly furry critters?
Paul Watson again filled his pockets with hard earned money from unsuspecting ill informed do gooders!
You have to have a football feid size bag of gall to come from another country , take all you can then turn around and call us Neanderthals and savages after all is done !
Incidentally those old 45,s the Beatles first came out with make real good shotgun targets flying through the air !
When they are all dead& gone they should use a tombstone shaped like a can of Raid bug spray to mark their grave! LOL

NOTE: The video described is being distributed by PETA2 Germany, and
can be found at http://www.the-canadians.com. FCUSA has issued a commentary
on a similarly-staged video (focused on beating a woman for her skin).
See Feminism and Fur at;
http://www.furcommission.com/news/newsF06f.htm.
---------------------------

The Charter (CAN)
EDITORIAL COMMENT
Beyond the limits
BARBARA DEAN-SIMMONS – THE PACKET
15/04/08
http://www.thecharter.ca:80/index.cfm?sid=126280&sc=317

They've really gone too far this time.

This year's campaign against the East Coast seal hunt has reached the
limits of acceptable debate and entered the realm of hate propaganda.

There's no other way to describe the video commercial that portrays a
group of people - garbed in oilskins to leave no doubt in the popular
mind that these are a group of East Coast fishers - committing the
murder of another human for his fur coat.

Metaphor aside, it's impossible to imagine the video is meant to serve
only one purpose. At the very least it is a slanderous
misrepresentation of the East Coast seal hunt and the people who
participate in it.

More than that, it is hate propaganda at its most vile.

And for that reason, the Canadian government must prosecute the
creators, and distributors, of this video to the full extent of the
law.

Hate propaganda is a violation under Canada's Criminal Code. Section
319 (1) defines the Public Incitement of Hatred as such: "To
contravene the code, a person must: communicate statements, in a
public place, incite hatred against an identifiable group and in such
a way that there will likely be breach of the peace."

The anti-sealing video, at least in the eyes of the layman, appears to
have contravened at least three of those rules. As for whether or not
the video could cause a breach of the peace, it would be up to the
Justices of Canada's Supreme Court to decide. Nevertheless, it is
plausible that the emotions stirred up by the video could cause more
than one member of the lunatic fringe to take a step over the edge and
target a sealer or sealers. Consider how the heated anti-abortion
debate led some to hand out their own perverted sense of justice -
assaulting and killing doctors who performed abortions - and it's not
a stretch to think sealers, their families or communities could face
the same threat, particularly thanks to this year's anti-sealing
propaganda.

Canada's Criminal Code also goes on to state that "in most cases, hate
propaganda communicated through the Internet is an offence under the
Criminal Code. Amendments to the Code, made under the Anti-Terrorism
Act in December 2001, further clarify measures and offences regarding
Internet hate crimes."

In addition, the Criminal Code says, "The courts may define the
motivations of hate, bias or prejudice as aggravating factors when
sentencing an offender for other offences, such as assault, damage to
property, threatening, or harassment. The result is usually a more
severe punishment (section 718.2(a)(i))."

No doubt, the Canadian government has some qualms about pursuing court
action in this matter. Specifically, the danger, as always, is that
taking legal action gives the anti-sealing protestors something they
enjoy - public attention.

Phillip Rosen, a senior analyst with the Government of Canada, in a
2000 report on the pros and cons of hate propaganda legislation, noted
"the prosecution of hate propagandists enables them to use the
courtroom as the medium to further disseminate their ideas. If they
are convicted or found to have committed a prohibited discriminatory
act, they may go on to make use of their martyrdom to further their
cause."

Yet, the strategies of previous governments - to remain quiet on the
issue in the mistaken belief that public attention would subside if
the debate were one-sided - have proved to be completely ineffective.

Prosecuting the anti-sealing group for hate propaganda under the
Criminal Code would put the Government of Canada and the sealing
industry in a win-lose situation. While the Supreme Court of Canada
might rule the video a form of hate propaganda, the entire court case
would be the subject of more public debate on the sealing issue.

While win-lose may seem like a zero sum game, it's at least marginally
better than being in a lose-lose situation, which is where the sealing
industry has been for the past several years - on the losing end of
anti-sealing propaganda.

At least in the win-lose scenario, the other side also risks a loss,
both in the expense of the legal battle, and in the potential loss of
credibility on the final judgment.

Taking the matter to court is a gamble, but it seems to be the only
choice the Canadian government can make on this issue.

In an interview last week on the Fisheries Broadcast on CBC, federal
fisheries minister Loyola Hearn hinted the government may be
considering action along those lines.

One can only hope they decide to go the legal route, and stand up for
the people of the East Coast who have been degraded, maligned and
turned into targets for hatred and God knows what else.

In the meantime, while Ottawa is dithering over its legal options, the
very least the federal government can do is refuse permits that allow
animal rights groups to sail within spitting distance of Coast Guard
vessels and sealers who are working in what are already hazardous
conditions.

If anti-sealing groups want to observe, fine, but restrict them to
ways and means that are non-threatening and do not risk the safety of
human life.

Barbara Dean-Simmons – The Packet

The point about some folks being driven over the edge not lost on this sealer.


http://www.capebretonpost.com/index.cfm?sid=126396&sc=145


Local sealer says Mowat is backing ‘terrorists’ print this article
ERIN POTTIE
The Cape Breton Post

SYDNEY — Surprise best describes a Cape Breton sealer’s reaction to author Farley Mowat’s support of the “terrorists” he believes jeopardized hunters out on the ice floes.



Dingwall sealer Robert Courtney, president of the North of Smokey Fishermen’s Association, was harvesting seals on ice in the Cabot Strait, March 30, when he says the crew aboard the Farley Mowat anti-sealing vessel closed in on them, busting the ice beneath his feet.


Courtney was astounded as the ship’s namesake referred to the recent arrest of the Mowat ship and its senior crew as a “gross miscarriage of justice” in statements to The Canadian Press.
“I was surprised that a man of Farley Mowat’s stature would support them,” said Courtney. “I call them nothing other than terrorists — and the acts they were doing were terrorists acts. They had no respect for us or for human life.”


Mowat, a long-standing conservationist, who lives part of the year in Cape Breton’s River Bourgeois area, posted the $10,000 bail for the two men after they were detained by an RCMP tactical squad on the high seas.


In a telephone call to Mowat’s home, Claire Mowat said her husband is exhausted from speaking to media and has said all he thinks is necessary about the subject.


The two crew members, Peter Hammarstedt and Alexander Cornelissen, are jointly charged with coming within one-half nautical mile of the seal hunt without being properly authorized, in an incident alleged to have occurred April 11 and 12 in waters off Cape Breton.


Both men face an individual charge of the same nature and Cornelissen faces a third count of obstruction of a federal fishery officer. They are both expected to appear in court May 1.
“My hat goes off to (Fisheries Minister Loyola) Hearn and what he did. I congratulate him, I’m behind him 100 per cent and I do believe that he did the right thing,” said Courtney, one of about 170 licensed sealers in Nova Scotia.


The 56-year-old, who has fished his whole life, said he must fish lobster, ground fish and grey seal, in addition to the harp seals, to help provide enough income for his family.
March 30, as he was operating off the 19-metre Cathy Erlene, Courtney said he watched the Mowat came within several metres of the hunters.


A Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker later responded and was grazed in a confrontation with the Mowat ship. Both sides blame the other for the hit.


Courtney said he was offended Nova Scotia’s government didn’t voice approval of the federal government’s actions, similar to statements made by Newfoundland’s Premier Danny Williams.
Provincial Fisheries Minister Ron Chisholm and Premier Rodney MacDonald said Tuesday they agree wholeheartedly with Ottawa and its arrests.



“This is a legal hunt carried out for a number of years, the sealers are doing the job that they’ve done for many years, and these guys (Mowat crew) are just basically putting sealers in harm’s way,” Chisholm said.

epottie@cbpost.com
16/04/08

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Helter Skelter from raynennaver, ns writes: Watson certainly has those impressionable lost souls brainwashed. When I watched them on the news, obediently standing behind him as he spoke to the media and posed for pictures, the first think that came to mind was the Manson Family. Just like Charlie Manson, Watson parades these poor souls around in front of the media and spews nonsense regardless of who he harms. Just like Manson, he has brainwashed his followers and sends them to do his dirty work. He is genuinely defiant of any type of authority and attempts to make a mockery of established laws, pushing his agenda without concern for the safety of others. It truly is an eerie sight.

Come to think of it, one of the harem, the Parman girl, has a striking resemblence to Susan Atkins. Creepy. Maybe his new tag should be Manson of the Sea .
Posted 16/04/2008 at 12:39 AM | Alert an Editor | Link to comment
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c collier from sydney, ns writes: I can't see the difference between killing a cow, a chicken, or a seal. I bet if seal meat tasted like lobster there would be less complants.Unless you are a vegetarian you u can't say too mutch.
Posted 16/04/2008 at 7:06 AM | Alert an Editor | Link to comment
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Rod Salsman from Sydney, Nova Scotia writes: As far as I am concerned, the charges in this matter should be attempted murder . Calling it anything else diminishes what the matter actually was, the premeditated action to take the life of the sealers or at the very least, place them in imminent peril. Breaking up the ice from beneath them is paramount to firing upon them with a gun. Paul Watson and his crew don't want to stick around these parts too long or they'll find themselves leaving with none of that cocky smugness on their faces.
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Enough of this bull$[Please excuse my language... I'm an idiot] from Sydney, Nova Scotia writes: Here we go again with all the comments about sealers (killers) what ever you want to call them.Then we got the anti sealers who are trying to stop the killing of seals. As for Helter Skelter who wrote first think that comes to mind First think? or first thought comes to mind.Time for you and those uneducated fishermen go back to school and learn a trade that doesn't involve killing.What news item will be the talk of Sydney after the sealers finish their hunt,will it be drug users get beaten with same bat that kills seals? I wonder,Hmm!
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CG Gillis from NS writes: I don't think that anyone could dispute that seals eat fish. Just like any other species living in its natural environment, it feeds off what is available. Seals can't work the touch tone phone either, so it's difficult for them to order a pizza. The question is whether the seals are to BLAME for the decline of the cod industry. I think that overfishing and greed is to blame for that, and a general lack of awareness that most humans suffer from. Short term gain for long term pain. And we can talk about what people were doing for hundreds of years, and the poor lobster fisherpeople just trying to put another SUV into the ten car garage, but that doesn't make it right. Our oceans are in trouble. The big picture is terrifying, and by jesu, it is not all do to the seals. So some folk can get riled up, and even stupid about it, and concentrate all their rage on one particular operation - the seal hunt. I think that there are lots of problems on both sides of this.

And hey, calling Mowat an old alcholic is way out of line. Except, well, that is certainly something that we have been doing here for hundreds of years as well.

Anyway.
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ambigius from N.S. writes: -
Was the ship in International waters ?
-
Records are now available as to the position of all vessels in this matter.
-
Let's see how things get turned around in the media. People will not care about the location of the vessels when debating ( debasting ) Captian & Crew. However, the courts will have to address the facts and not the rantings found here and there. I would leave a link to the findings but like any good treasure you have to do somethings all on your own.
-
Have A Great Day !
Not 4 Nor against the hunt.
-
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Clint from hrm writes: Then we GOT the antisealers????

I think that someone else should go back to school and learn english as well as lose the dirty mouth, talk about uneducated fishermen? I wonder where you fit in the whole scene.
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caper tch105 from ns writes: my children will never read this mans writings they know that he lives here in capebreton..but we as a family we told them that he doesn t think like a caper,he thinks and acts like a upper canadian..i think some of us would like to see you gone from your little piece of heaven you got for land..over on the st.peter side of the island..have fun when you go to town feelings might have changed farely.... your fault..trader
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Elwood from ns writes: Well Clint, since you're in the grammar pulpit, your 'English' should have been capitalized and 'talk' should have begun a new sentence. Hit the books yourself.
Posted 16/04/2008 at 9:38 AM | Alert an Editor | Link to comment
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Pat Reid from Glace Bay, Nova Scotia writes: I am shocked that Provincial Court officials accepted bags of unrolled one & two dollar canadian currency as bail for the two detainees. This is simply unacceptable and they could have rightly refused to accept payment presented in such a fashion. By accepting this, they allowed these alleged criminals to further insult our justice system and our people. I am sure people around the world had quite a laugh, given how Watson treated our court officials. Seems that while they had just cause to refuse, they lacked the fortitude to do so. I would have told Watson to return with reasonable exchange for his friends.
Posted 16/04/2008 at 9:45 AM | Alert an Editor | Link to comment
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soup from ont writes: We,ll still be the talk of Whales long after the last radio-therapy session.
Posted 16/04/2008 at 10:33 AM | Alert an Editor | Link to comment
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Clint from hrm writes: Sorry Elmwood(sic), I was too busy hugging Paul Watson.
Posted 16/04/2008 at 10:50 AM | Alert an Editor | Link to comment
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elvis from nova scotia writes: I think it is a lot of hype about little. Let the seal hunt continue - geeeeese not like we kill tons of other animals - any of you save the seals people ever eat a chicken or steak or bacon?

On the otherside I dont think these anti-seal guys are terrorists out to kill people - yea they may be bone heads - but hopfully if they ever do what they did again they will serve some major tie in the clink - and ofcourse be fined more twonies!
Posted 16/04/2008 at 11:06 AM | Alert an Editor | Link to comment
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Hearn is laughing at you from Home writes: I am a Cape Breton living away and am completely embarrassed by the narrow-mindedness of the comments I read here. Sealers need to make a living, but it is your goverment lead by Loyola Hearn who is really pulling a fast one over everyone. They are supporting the Seal Trade to keep you happy making a modest living, while lining the rich pockets of corporations. In the meantime, our oceans continue to deplete and our fragile ecosystems spin out of control. I applaud Paul Watson and Farley Mowat. Both are honorable heroes who are standing up for what is decent and right. Noone here seems to understand or comprehend that we are on the brink of ecological disaster. Instead of protecting our oceans, we are raping and pillaging it. Mankind is the real ecoterrorist. I met Paul Watson last year. He is a vegan (doesn't eat meat at all) and is one of the supporting catalysts behind PETA. He is a very humble who lives extremely modestly. The way he is portrayed here as a money-hungry manipulist is shameful. This planet is not going to be a very friendly place to live in soon and years from now, you will all look back in complete shame at your actions. If the consequences weren't as high as they are, i would look forward with great delight years from now with a big I told you so. And shame on the media who are completely irresponsible for not reporting such consequences. They have a real opportunity to effectuate a public education campaign. Take the blinders off.
Posted 16/04/2008 at 11:15 AM | Alert an Editor | Link to comment
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EYE IN THE SKY from LITTLE DEAR ISLAND,NS. writes: THE GOV: Cover-UP. 4 sealers drowned by Coast Guard, PLease! Hearn make it Right! Blame.... someone hurry fast.....I,m a fishermen please! change the law quick,not the spike to kill the Seals,hand me a BaseBall Bat. Thank God some people look at life ,from the other side of the window. COAST GUARD HILLS 4 ! No GOV: Investigation ? Farley Video,s Hunt! GOV:Put,s Them in Jail & hands out 1 way Tickets,causing them criminal Records & No way back into the Country! Maybe Farley seen more than a seal Hunt? Old Gov:TRICK ,Watch the Right Hand ,while the left hand Wonder,s ,nothing new thier! what,s really going on in the water?must be Big Money!
Posted 16/04/2008 at 11:38 AM | Alert an Editor | Link to comment
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jmi55 from ont. writes: I am neither for, nor against the seal hunt , but the ocean going fish are half the size they were years ago.
It wasn't were nice what Paul Waston said about the four deceased sealers and the toonies thing was just plain stupid.
Farley Mowat is a war hero who parlayed a deal with the enemy to feed a Dutch town that was starving.
Posted 16/04/2008 at 1:49 PM | Alert an Editor | Link to comment
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joey blowie from n.s. writes: jimi55 what are you smokin Mowat is no war hero............he may have cooked the food but thats it,i doubt it if he was ever in the service.
the town he spends his summer vacation in is full of war hero's A.K.A the Cape Breton Highlander's,does Vimy Ridge ring a bell ? or Juno Beach? those are hero's especially the one buried there.
Posted 16/04/2008 at 1:56 PM | Alert an Editor | Link to comment
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Kate from NS writes: Yes, Al Quada are against the sealers. Do the pro-seal hunt people have any intelligent arguments at all or is this the best they can do? You all sound like robots for Hearn and the others that profit from this make work project. What a black eye on everyone in Canada.
Posted 16/04/2008 at 2:17 PM | Alert an Editor | Link to comment
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RON BURGANDY from SYDNEY, NS writes: OK,, REALLY , enough of the stories about the seals...Can the Post let readers comment on other stories besides the rediculous ones.\
Posted 16/04/2008 at 3:45 PM | Alert an Editor | Link to comment
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John from NS writes: Yes enough about the seal hunt. We who support it are too stupid to come up with arguments for it and we want it to go away.
Posted 16/04/2008 at 3:49 PM | Alert an Editor | Link to comment
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Deported from Ontario writes: Two anti-sealing activists to be deported after being charged:
How convient, the government arrests them and kicks them out. What about the court date. Al Quada Terrorists are in this country and the Canadian gov. is paying their welfare and future planning against this country and are here *^&^ around with a few protesters that the majority of Canadians support. This %^&^* government is a disgrace to us and the world. Kick them out so they won't make the court date and then you can screw them in the future when they try and come back. The gov. is run by a pack of Coc^$%&Suckers !

Coc^$%&Suckers is Russian for nice people (lol)
Posted 16/04/2008 at 3:54 PM | Alert an Editor | Link to comment
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al from novascotia writes: mowat should stay out of cape breton, he is no longer wanted here, he will soon realize that his big mouth and ego put him in this position, I urge everyone to let this loser know how they feel when and if he comes back to the island.......
Posted 16/04/2008 at 3:59 PM | Alert an Editor | Link to comment
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Warren from CB writes: the sealing industry is dead. get over with it and move on. even Europe has banned seal furs. talk to any marine ecologist - seals have no impact on the fish population. Hooray for Farley Mowat. It takes a courageous man to stand up for those who cannot defend themselves. none of you have any clue how damaging the sealing industry in on the environment. get your heads out of the sand. sickening these comments. Cape Breton is my home. And men the likes of Paul Watson and Farley Mowat are welcome in my home anytime.
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SAVE THE MOOSE SHOOT THE SEALER... from Hugging a Tree in, British Columbia writes: Head is out of the sand.

Watson & Co. deliberately endangered the lives of men earning a living to support their families.

That is sickening regardless of political opinions.

I don't agree with the seal hunt, nor do I agree with the Iraq war, but i would never wish harm upon an American soldier doing his job.

It's sickening that slimy maggots like Watson wish harm upon innocent people making a living.
Posted 16/04/2008 at 6:10 PM | Alert an Editor | Link to comment
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Hug A Seal from Ontario writes: Hug a seal and shoot the seal hunter is my say. You people in Cape Breton embarass the rest of the country. Your all a bunch of animal haters. We in Toronto are a real contribution to society and this country. Get off welfare and drugs, stop killing everything you see and join the rest of the country by saying how deeply sorry you as Cape Bretoners are and vow never to act like idots and uneducated fools that each and everyone of you are. Hug a seal ! We will be travelling to Halifax to see the great Paul McCartney The Beatles in person and thanking God that he had the sense not to play in Cape Breton for he knows what fools would try to ruin his show because of the low lifes that live on that island, uneducated, fools, seal haters that you all are !
Posted 16/04/2008 at 6:50 PM | Alert an Editor | Link to comment
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Cape Breton from Cape Breton writes: Dear Hug A Seal

just because your from Ontario does not make you better then us. By your writing i say you may be around 16-19 and you know very little about Cape Breton. How nice of you to make light of our drug problem, you know I'm pretty sure Ontario has one of them as well. And Paul McCartney? you try to use that? Ill be there to, if anything to spit your dumb seal loving anti Caper face.

Hugs and kisses

Cape Breton



Donnie from Nova Scotia writes: The seal herd went from 1.5 million in the late 1980 range and now stands at 6 million strong today despite culling 1 million seals every three years in total. Is everyone so lost in emotions that they can not see the facts are that we would have over twenty million seals to contend with today and so would the rest of our Marine Eco-system here. There is already evidence that some birthing cows are showing a 20% loss in body fat which is indicative of decline caused by beginning of starvation problems. Conservation of our ecosystem depends on culling seals to protect the whole marine environment. Emotional rhetoric without educating ourselves to why the cull is a healthy valve for conservation of seals is more about Watson types pretending they are Saints while ignoring their Nirvana is paved with starvation.
Posted 16/04/2008 at 8:17 PM | Alert an Editor | Link to comment
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Donnie from Nova Scotia writes: Educated Seal Hugger in Toronto is missing some big items in that rant of ignorance. The truth is 95% of the worlds population eats meat which comes from dead animals but what are facts to hypocrites? The obvious point of that comment is a 200 hundred LB pig or a 2000 steer is killed with a bolt through a rather hard, fully formed skull and into the brain, while a hit from a Harapik is a bolt to the brain of a soft skull and into the brain. The seals need to be culled to protect other species and themselves. Can Toronto Seal Hugger not see the hypocrisy of eating a Bolt Killed T-Bone Steak in comparative to a BOLT killed Seal on the ice floes?? I guess Critical Thinking and Cognitive reasoning are classes not taught in Toronto. BTW if Watson is a poster child for Veganism his rotund body is a good reason to get exercise and eat some lean meat, because that sucker is FAT. Hugs and Kisses from a critically Thinking Caper.
Posted 16/04/2008 at 8:30 PM | Alert an Editor | Link to comment

The Politics of seals leads to big money for ARA and political gains for those politicians willing to destroy conservation for their own POLITICAL GAINS such as in European Union & in the US of A in asking Canada to be a signatory to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity and, as such, must guarantee the diversity of living species and harvest its resources in a sustainable manner.


This is where Politicians and conservation is falling off the rails.

The real story lies in these observations and weighed against the Rebbecca Aldsworth documentary which she was pushing where she had a wounded seal pulled onto the ice and film it's slow death for over an hour despite not knowing what wounded it. The truth is obvious to even the most unaware and gullible of people in general public but especially in Government legislators, which Watson & his Sea Shepherd Society are playing for fools..



Canada Free Press
Atlantic seal harvest, Paul Watson and his band of eco-terrorists
Motives of Animal Rights Groups Exposed by 3 Simple Words - "Ban the Hakapik"
By Myles Higgins
Thursday, April 17, 2008

http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/2687#When:09:25:00Z


With all the happenings taking place during this year's Atlantic seal
harvest folks have begun to ask me why I've remained virtually silent
on the issue this time around. "It's not like you", they say, and
they're right.

In my own defence all I can say is that I've been having such a good
time (barring the tragic incidents that took place) that I made a
concious decision to remain a fly on the wall and simply soak it all
in.

Until now that is. Things have reached a point where I simply can't
hold back any longer.

This has been, without a doubt, a season of contradictions and a
season of incidents that has finally lifted the veil of secrecy
surrounding the activities of the anti-sealing contingent.

First off the mark was none other than the infamous Paul Watson and
his band of eco-terrorists.

Finally, the group was told to abide by the law for once. They refused
to do so. Instead they jeopardized the lives of hard working fishermen
and those of Coast Guard officials before fleeing Canadian waters and
heading to St. Pierre (a territory of France) to seek refuge. I
suppose with EU officials considering a ban on seal products the
misguided crew of the Farley Mowat assumed a French port would provide
safe haven. It was not to be so.

The citizens of the small French outpost, who truly know what's
happening in the North Atlantic, don't agree with their political
leadership in Paris, nor do they agree with the illegal activities of
the "Shepherd's" flock. They proved this point by unceremoniously
cutting the moorings of Watson's pirate vessel, excuse me, "Dutch
registered Yacht", casting it adrift.

If I've neglected to say thanks to the good folks of St. Pierre before
now then I deeply apologize. Thanks for standing up and doing the
right thing. Hopefully we can return the favor some time.

With no Port of call anywhere near the seal harvest willing to accept
them, Watson's crew foolishly entered Canadian waters and were
arrested by authorities, to the well publicized delight of Federal
Fisheries Minister, Loyola Hearn.

Now at this point we need to pause and reflect on the fact that I
clearly said "Watson's crew" rather than Watson himself. This is
because the "Good Shepherd", as he likes to be called, was not
actually onboard the vessel even though he is known for often
publicizing his writings from the ice floes, whether he's actually
there or not. Instead the "Shepherd" was apparently watching his brain
washed followers twisting in the wind from the confines of a luxury
hotel suite or his palatial home, provided to him through "creative"
bookkeeping and questionable fund raising efforts. You see it's much
drier, safer and warmer there.

The funny part of all this is that the drama taking place on the high
seas this season was nothing compared with the bustle of activity
onshore. In fact Watson and the antics of his followers pales in
comparison to the most telling incident surrounding this year's
harvest.

It all began when the Premiers of Newfoundland & Labrador and Nunavut
called on the federal government to ban the use of the "hakapik", a
form of club used by some sealers to club the animals and drag them
(or their pelts) to the boats. It's a tool that is important to the
sealers and one that has been proven to be a quick and humane method
of taking a seal. I'm sure both leaders will receive backlash for
their stand from many sealers, but at least the reasoning behind their
request is quite understandable.

You see Anti-sealing activists, animal rights activists,
eco-terrorists, or whatever you want to call them, have all used the
same technique for decades in their never ending quest to gain
sympathy from the public and make wallets fly open around the world.
They do this by convincing the public that the hunt is savage and
inhumane. They present it as such by promoting videos and pictures of
big burly men using clubs to "attack" supposedly defenseless animals.
(Have you ever been bitten by a seal? I don't recommend it). These
groups never, or very rarely, show anyone hunting seals with a rifle,
the manner actually used in well over 90% of the hunt.

These people are users and manipulators.

They are not stupid. They know that showing someone using a rifle to
hunt an animal is not very effective as a propaganda tool. You see
"normal" people use rifles to hunt deer, elk, moose and many other
animals the world over, so it doesn't stir up the same level of
emotion as a good old fashioned bludgeoning at the hands of a
"barbarian". Therein lies the contradiction of these groups. A
contradiction that has been exposed to the light of day this week.

For years anti-sealing groups have publicized the club, or hakapik, as
a symbol of the brutality of the hunt. They have, time and time again,
spoken of how inhumane the technique is and how cruel those who use
such an instrument must be. Now these very same anti-sealing groups
are publicly saying, and I quote, "…removing hakapiks from the hunt
will do nothing to improve the welfare of the animals. In fact, it
will likely increase the suffering."

Go figure?

The preceding is a direct quote from Rebecca Aldsworth of HSUS, one of
the most virulent anti-sealing organizations and one of the best
funded. Clearly the suffering she is referring to is her own, when her
ability to use the club as a fund raising and propaganda tool is taken
away from her.

The public needs to ask itself, "If well over 90% of seals are already
hunted by rifle and if, as Aldsworth is NOW saying, rifles are more
cruel than clubs, then why have her group and all the others always
focused their promotional and fund raising propaganda on the use of
the club? Why have they almost always focused on how inhumane clubbing
is rather that the cruelty of a gun? I think the answer to that
question should be obvious to any thinking person in light of Ms.
Aldsworth's recent comments.

Oh what a season.

First Watson, the self-proclaimed "Shepherd" is found napping in his
comfortable bed while his followers envision him at sea protecting the
world and misguided minions are doing all the dirty work of terrorism
or running afoul of the law, and the people of two nations.

Next Federal Fisheries Minister, Loyola Hearn, has a rare shining
media moment after tackling the "Shepherd" head on. No doubt his doing
so was an effort to protect his failing political career as much as
the lives and livelihoods of sealers, but nevertheless it's good to
see some small sign of life in Ottawa. I can't help feeling that the
sealers and everyone else would be better served however if observer
permits were never issued to the likes of the Sea Shepherd Society in
the first place. I mean what's wrong with issuing permits to
independent scientists, journalists and the like but denying them to
group's with a predefined agenda's and a vested financial interest?

Even after all of that, it's the call for a ban on the hakapik that
takes the cake for me. I know some sealers have legitimate concerns
about a potential ban but while it may make their jobs a little more
difficult the overall benefit to the hunt is already becoming clear.

When anti-sealing groups begin to clamor all over each other to say
that banning the clubbing of seals is NOT a good thing it should give
everyone pause for thought. Are these groups really worried about
protecting the welfare of animals or are they actually concerned with
protecting their bottom line? Taking away the Hakapik may remove a
valuable tool from the sealers but it will also remove an even more
valuable one from the protest groups.

After decades of anti-sealing rhetoric, a simple request to ban the
hakapik has shown everyone just how manipulating these groups are and
how weak the house of cards they've constructed actually is.

For years these groups have been seen in the region as difficult to
battle because they pander to the greatest of all human emotions,
compassion. What the events of the past few days have clearly shown us
is that in reality they are nothing more than wolves in sheep's
clothing. One can only hope that the trickle of truth that is now
emerging will someday turn into a flowing river of realization. That
those who waste their hard earned dollars and their far more valuable
emotional resources on the Watson's and Aldsworth's of the world will
finally see them for what they truly are. Pathetic money grubbing
con-artists.

Posted 04/17

If people were not so gullible and prone to believing HSUS & Sea Shepherd type lies they wouldn't be against the hunt to begin with.

Montreal Gazette
We dislike seal hunt, but don't make waves; Nationwide poll. Most
support RCMP seizure of protest vessel
BYLINE: JULIET O'NEILL
DATE: 2008.04.19
http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=9d82d98d-bf1e-454b-a8af-57334042b792

OTTAWA - Most Canadians don't like the commercial seal hunt but they
appear to like confrontational protests against it even less.

Seventy five per cent of Canadians support the federal government's
decision last weekend to board and seize an anti-sealing protest ship
off the coast of Newfoundland, says an Ipsos Reid poll published
yesterday. There was a high level of support for seizing the Farley
Mowat, arresting its crew and charging two officers, even though only
four in 10 Canadians support the annual hunt.

Half of Canadians said they oppose commercial seal hunting. Two in 10
would shut it down altogether and four in 10 would allow only hunting
by aboriginals and others for personal and subsistence use.

"It's clear that the Canadian public doesn't like publicity stunts,
doesn't like people who are not working within the law," John Wright,
senior vice-president of Ipsos Reid, said in an interview.

"The Canadian public is saying we should do something about the seal
hunt, we're opposed to it, but we don't want civil disobedience to go
with it."

The pollsters compared the findings with 1997 and found opposition to
the hunt up two percentage points to 52 per cent, support down by six
points to 39 per cent and those who don't know what to think up three
points to nine per cent.

Support for the RCMP intervention after the Farley Mowat's
confrontation with a Coast Guard ship was high across the board.

Opposition to the hunt is highest in British Columbia (61 per cent),
among urban residents (55 per cent), the under-35 age group (60 per
cent), women (63 per cent), those with less than a high-school
education (63 per cent) and those with incomes under $30,000 (70 per
cent).

Support for commercial sealing is highest in Atlantic Canada (64 per
cent), among those 55 or older (44 per cent), rural residents (48 per
cent), university-educated adults (48 per cent) and those with annual
incomes of $60,000 or more (48 per cent). More men, 51 per cent,
support sealing than women, 28 per cent.

Two-thirds of Atlantic Canadians support the hunt and three in 10 are
opposed. Most Atlantic Canadians either want to see the seal hunt
operate as it is (44 per cent) or support an expansion of the hunt (17
per cent). Two in 10 (18 per cent) support closing the hunt
completely, while 16 per cent support closing the commercial hunt, but
allowing aboriginals and subsistence hunters to continue.

- - -

Survey highlights
Opposition by region
Atlantic 30%
Quebec 54%
Ontario 55%
Sask./Man. 42%
Alberta 50%
B.C. 61%

Overall
In favour 39%
Opposed 52%
Don't know 9%
Ipsos Reid poll of 1,002 adults April 15-17
Margin of error: 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.