warning graphic : what whaling is about

http://weblog.greenpeace.org/oceandefenders/

Mercy shot
by Andrew, onboard the Esperanza

©Greenpeace/DavisonToday ended with a sad and bizarre scene. At first we thought they had missed. Both of our boats were caught far out of position - on the whaler's starboard (right), while the whale was to port (left) and ahead. Then the Hughie (heli pilot) reported blood in the water. A huge amount of blood. The whale had been hit. It was mortally wounded, but for the first time we have seen the harpoon had not set. Our boats fell to the back of the Yushin Maru No. 2, well out of its way - hoping the whalers would end the animal's suffering.
It is an unpleasant oddity, this moment when Greenpeace activists and the whalers want the same thing...the end of a whale's life. We put our boats in the way, we put our safety on the line, we endure freezing cold spray and brutal conditions to protect whales. But after the harpoon hits home, it is only a matter of ending the poor thing's pain. We often see that taking minutes - sometimes five, sometimes ten, sometimes longer. This time it took roughly half an hour.

The whalers reloaded the harpoon and took a second shot. A miss. Then the whale slipped away from all of us. The whalers, our helicopter, everyone. We knew it was dying, in pain and barely able to swim. Another whaling vessel, the Kyo Maru, came to look for it. For a brief twisted period we found ourselves on the same side, both Greenpeace and whalers working together - maybe for different reasons, but I would like to think that they also regretted the animal's pain.

At one point, the whale was seen off our starboard side. Frank (captain) actually called the whalers on the radio to tell them (in no uncertain terms) where to find it, and to finish it.
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warning for the pic on the link

;(

you all suck!

except for some traditions in Norway and Japan. In Norway it makes the living of some coastal villages. Japan is worse because it's only the search after "exotic food".

BTW the story of the seals is pretty much the same. The only people that should be allowed to hunt whale and seal are natives.

the bleeding whale hasn't hit the net yet, help spreading it.

I got a strong impression as I read through that Greenpeace is a world unto itself. It was quite moving. A very strong type of person -- the peak, perhaps. Would it not be a fine thing to see Greenpeace writing environmental legislation with a new Progressive-American administration, the mirror image of Cheney and the Oil Lobbyists? What harm could possibly ensue? Business transition problems? Bah! We are Americans! We shall convert to hydrogen and save the earth, business will boom in an intelligently-regulated global environment, all boats will rise and -- off to the stars!! Hey? I believe it, because I'm a true American patriot. Texas-born, no less!

My father-in-law is an ex-oil executive who haggled with Greenpeace in the eighties over double-hulled tankers. He spoke disparagingly of them, although he is not a man directly devoted to evil -- I defended well. He tries. He's virtually the last conservative I have any willing contact with. Ah, the polarization --

Thanks for posting this here.