Posted on 03/06/2010 3:14:26 AM PST by myknowledge
The Australian Federal Police have raided two boats owned by the anti-whaling group the Sea Shepherd at the behest of Japanese authorities.
Both the Steve Irwin and the Bob Barker were raided by AFP officers as they docked in Hobart on Saturday.
Their arrival marked the end of their summer campaign, chasing and clashing with the Japanese whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean.
The Steve Irwin arrived to Princes Wharf about 8.30am (AEDT) - engine problems had cut short this season's campaign.
It was greeted by a crowd of well wishers but federal police officers were also there - armed with a search warrant.
Sea Shepherd boss and the ship's captain Paul Watson was detained and his crew interviewed before they were released.
He said there is a possibility the raids could lead to a court case.
"They've already seized log books, videos, photographs, charts, GPS recordings and copies of the computer hard drives," Capt Watson told AAP.
"There's nothing I would love better than to have this whole thing blow up in an Australian court, let's clean all the laundry once and for all."
Sister vessel the Bob Barker arrived at Princes Wharf about 2.30pm and underwent a similar search.
"As a result of a formal referral from Japanese authorities the AFP can confirm it conducted a search warrant on board the Steve Irwin this morning," an AFP spokesman told AAP.
"The AFP can also confirm it conducted a search warrant onboard the Bob Barker, and as inquiries are ongoing, it's inappropriate to comment any further at this stage."
Australian Greens leader Bob Brown was present when the Steve Irwin docked and took aim at the federal government.
"This is outrageous that Australian police are at the disposal of the Japanese whale killers," Senator Brown told the welcoming crowd.
He said the search warrant used to raid the vessel alleges breaches of Australian law, not Japanese law.
"The search warrant invokes a lot of potential claims of infringement of laws, obscure or otherwise, under Australian law.
"Shouldn't the Australian police be waiting on the docks in Tokyo for the real criminals here?"
A spokeswoman for Senator Brown said video material onboard the ship was being investigated by the police.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd would not comment directly on the action but said the government's position on Japanese whaling was clear.
"Either the government of Japan agrees to reduce its current catch from where it is to zero, in a reasonable time, or the Australian government will prosecute this matter in the international court of justice and we would initiate that action prior to the next whaling season," he told reporters in Melbourne.
Capt Watson criticised the government for not investigating a clash between its vessel, the Ady Gil, and a Japanese whaling boat in January, that led to Ady Gil being damaged and abandoned at sea.
"The Japanese deliberately rammed and destroyed one of our ships and almost killed six of our people, but nobody's questioning them - so it seems to be very one sided."
The AFP searched and seized evidence from the Steve Irwin in 2009, but it didn't lead to any charges.
First I heard of such. I seriously doubt “European Americans” do so. Naturally you do have more to reference? I think my prev post was clear that I thought the hunting of whales should not be continued, as is now under Jap “research”.
Would suspect it is illegal to import, not saying that the asians don’t sneak some in like africans do monkey meat.
Indians from Canada and Washington State have killed several Gray whales this last year,
The Alaska natives here kill dozens of bowhead whales, and we finally just got them to quite killing Beluga whales.
Anchorage may take a massive economic hit as a bunch of asshat Greenies have decided the few Belugas remaining are somehow different the one living elsewhere and must be protected.
All of Cook Inlet is now under consideration as “protected habitat” - we may not be able to bring in the ships that carry of food and such....
Why so few?
The “rights” of the natives to kill and eat them - literally to extortion.....
If they’re good to eat I’d like to try some.
Alaska Natives were a hunter-gatherer culture.
Last I looked outside of some cariboo/moose hunter, noboady has taken anything away. Sure as the dickens no whales.
My point - just in case you missed it
Eveyone is down on ‘those evil Japs’ for hunting and killing, then eating whales - while this hunting/killing/eating goes on all the time here in the good old USofA.
No one culture is better than another, eh?
ASOC out.
Man, I ain’t missin zero. Maybe the long winter has gotten to ya.
If the Japanese want to hunt and eat whales or anything else in their “historic” territory similar to Native Americans, I say let em. Not happy with them roaming the world to feed their historic hunger, no more than if Native Americans strayed off their historic hunting grounds.
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