Some of us think one of the few legitimate roles of Government is to stop "activists engaging in property damage"
The issue is whether the “activism” is intended to stop activity that is clearly or arguably unlawful. We did a whole lot of property damage in Iraq in the early days of the current war, but the objective was such that few conservatives would say this wasn’t justified. The Japanese whalers are blatantly lying about the purpose of their whale-killing activities, while simultaneously claiming to be adhering to the regulations of the IWC. They are slaughtering huge numbers of whales from populations that move in and out of international waters, and have blithely ignored requests from the government of Australia to stop whaling in that area. The Japanese don’t have a right decimate any species they choose, anywhere on the planet, in order to make a profit.