捕鯨は日本の恥

Captain Bethune is a genuine hero, not just to Sea Shepherd, but to people around the world who love whales and want to see the brutal and remorseless slaughter of these whales ended. He has made sacrifices and he repeatedly risked his life to defend the whales. Captain Bethune is not unique amongst my crew in this regard, but with reference to Operation Waltzing Matilda he was exceptional.

But he violated a basic tenet of the rules of engagement of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and thus we had no alternative but to make the decision to not have Captain Bethune participate in future campaigns.

Captain Bethune had already told the Japanese court that he would not be returning and our decision further convinced the Japanese judges that they had nothing to fear from letting Pete return home. The judges are concerned that Japan would lose face if they released him only to board another whaling ship in the Southern Ocean once again. Captain Bethune saying that he would not return was not sufficient to convince the judges, but his statement backed up by Sea Shepherd’s decision to not have him participate will considerably help to alleviate the concerns of the judges.

As to the nature of the violations against Sea Shepherd policy, it is not in our interest or Captain Bethune’s to go into any detail. It is simply sufficient for us to say that we were compelled to make this decision for very good reasons both in the interest of Captain Bethune and of Sea Shepherd.