Plants and Animals

Last year Greenpeace’s little ship tug the Arctic Sunrise rammed the Nisshin Maru, the mother-ship for the Japanese whaling fleet in the Antarctic. Remember the photographs?

But this year, following a fire on the Nisshin Maru and the evacuation of most of its crew, Greenpeace is now offering help.

The Esperanza, another ship in the Greenpeace fleet, could tow the Nisshin Maru to New Zealand.

Greenpeace says the ship must be moved because it represents a threat to the environment, in particular 1.3 million litres of fuel could leak into the ocean if the ship flounders.

The Japanese have said there is no immediate threat, “Fears that this might turn into some environmental disaster are premature. The vessel is not drifting, it’s not listing and it’s not leaking. The Nisshin Maru is stable and the fire has been contained to one area well away from any fuel and oil storage.”

That the huge Japanese mother-ship, the Nisshin Maru, could be towed out of the Antarctic by arch enemy, Greenpeace, no doubt represents an ultimate embarrassment – a worst nightmare for the Japanese.

“Eco-terrorist group Sea Shepherd Conservation Society telephoned Greenpeace yesterday to inform them of the position of their vessels and those of the Japanese research fleet.

ICR Director General Hiroshi Hatanaka said that while Sea Shepherd was putting a mayday call out to vessels in the area to assist with lost animal rights activists, they put in a telephone call to Greenpeace to inform them of everyone’s position.

“We have increasing concerns and evidence that both groups are working together, despite claims last year that Greenpeace had nothing to do with Sea Shepherd. Now it will develop into a competition between them to see who can perform the most dangerous and illegal stunts – to see which group gets more airtime.” The ICR today called on both organisations to keep their distance from the research fleet.

Animal rights activists from the Sea Shepherd pirate vessel Robert Hunter yesterday shot bottles of butyric acid onto the deck of the Nisshin Maru, as well as empty bottles, shards of glass and rubbish from their vessel. Video footage of the butyric acid being shot onto the Nisshin Maru can be viewed
here: http://www.icrwhale.org/gpandsea.htm. The video shot from a crew member on the Nisshin Maru clearly shows Sea Shepherd members shooting acid-filled bottles onto the deck.

Dr Hatanaka said: “Our concerns over the safety of crew and scientists have increased greatly. To shoot bottles of acid, as well as shards of glass, demonstrates these people are out to hurt others and damage property. Both Sea Shepherd vessels have been stripped of their registration after the UK and Belize refused to support their eco-terrorist activity, and the fact they are continuing with their piracy suggests they just don’t care about other people.”

In the attack, two Japanese crew members were hit by missiles. One crew member was hit in the face by a bottle while the other had butyric acid squirted into his eyes. Butyric acid is a corrosive chemical and contact can cause burns to eyes and skin, leading to permanent damage. “One of our crewmen is having difficulty opening his eye because of the acid but the full extent of his injuries has yet to be determined. The other received a cut on his face from contact with the bottle,” Dr Hatanaka said.

Despite the attack, the Nisshin Maru yesterday responded to Sea Shepherd mayday calls after two of their animal rights activists went missing after attempting to entangle the Nisshin Maru’s propeller with a net.

The Institute of Cetacean Research has completed much of their research programme for this year. The research contributes to greater knowledge of whale species in the Southern Ocean and provides valuable data to improve the IWC’s management scheme for sustainable commercial whaling in the area.

End of Media Release from the Institute of Cetacean Research

“A small flock of year-old whooping cranes led south by an ultralight aircraft has been wiped out by violent storms that swept over their habitat in the Florida salt marshes.

The 18 birds were raised in a Wisconsin sanctuary and left last fall on a 2,000-kilometre migration that took 78 days.

“They were strong and healthy birds, and they’re all gone now,” said Joe Duff, one of the lead ultralight pilots and co-founder of Operation Migration. …

Read the story in the Toronto Star here: http://www.thestar.com/News/article/178087

Hi Jennifer,

Unfortunately a fourth western gray whale has died after becoming entangled in a fixed fishing net off the coast of North Eastern Japan:
http://david-in-tokyo.blogspot.com/2007/01/another-western-gray-whale-entanglement.html

Regards,
David.

Bindi Irwin, daughter of the late Crocodile hunter Steve Irwin, may be the youngest person to ever address the National Press Club in Washington DC. According to ABC Online she follows in the footsteps of Winston Churchill, Indira Gandhi and Nelson Mandela.

But the new face of nature conservation got it wrong when she suggested koalas could go extinct in “my lifetime”:

“It is very sad that in my lifetime, a lot of wildlife could disappear,” she said, wearing her trademark khaki and pigtails. “We could lose tigers and gorillas and even my favourite koalas.” “We need to help my daddy’s work and make this world a perfect place for animals.”

In fact there is no evidence to suggest that the Australian koala is threatened with extinction, and some evidence to suggest some populations, including on Kangaroo Island, may benefit from culling.

How could Bindi get it so wrong?

Perhaps the economics of conservation favours ignorance and failure?

Indeed the Australian Koala Foundation has generated and maintained its support base on the false belief that the Australian koala is a species in decline and furthermore the organisation has not supported measures, in particular control burning, that may significantly benefit koala populations.