Sea Shepherd heads back to the Faroe Islands

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SEA SHEPHERD INTERNATIONAL

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 21, 2000

 

OCEAN WARRIOR RETURNING TO FAROE ISLANDS WHALE HUNT

- Whale protection ship undeterred by official harassment

- Unilever lashes out at boycott

 

Arrests, detention, deportation, incitement to mutiny by police, and

ever-increasing fines have failed to deter the Ocean Warrior, Sea Shepherd

International's flagship, from its campaign against the pilot whale " grind

hunts " of the Faroe Islands, a protectorate of Denmark. Official pressure

has been brought to bear in an attempt to make the marine wildlife activists

stand down and end the increasing international attention that has been

focused on the Faroes tradition of mass whale slaughter since the campaign

began on July 6.

 

Ocean Warrior sailed this morning from its port in the Shetland Islands on

course for the Faroes despite demands of the ship's Cayman Islands Shipping

Registry, under pressure from the Danish government, that the vessel remain

in port until Captain Paul Watson had signed statements affirming that he

would not enter Faroese waters.

 

On Tuesday, while the Ocean Warrior was delayed for inspection in the

Shetlands, several Faroese fishing boats herded between 30 and 40 pilot

whales into one of the islands' shallow bays, where they were driven onto

shore and slaughtered with long machete-like knives.

 

Unilever, facing increasing public demand to cancel its Faroese fish

contracts since the beginning of Sea Shepherd International's campaign, has

issued a statement that the fish it purchases from the Faroese fishing fleet

represents a small portion of the Faroes' total catch, and the fishermen

from which it buys its fish have attested that they " are not involved in,

and not supportive to, any annual whale hunt, slaughter, or distribution of

whales or whale products, " hence Unilever " does not have any direct or

indirect involvement " with the slaughter.

 

" Five major European food distributors - Aldi's, Edeka, Rewe, Tenglemann and

Karstadt - have demonstrated that they have a conscience and terminated

their Faroes seafood contracts, " said Sea Shepherd Vice President Carroll

Vogel. " We would be happy to sit down with Unilever chairman Niall

FitzGerald and discuss the selective amnesia of Faroese fishermen when they

are doing business with Unilever, and what percentage of Unilever's profits

it believes may be acceptably soaked in the blood of whales. "

 

Unilever brand names include Gorton's Seafood, Bird's Eye, Langnese,

Lipton's Tea, Dove soap, and Ben & Jerry's ice cream.

 

 

Sea Shepherd International

P.O. Box 2616

Friday Harbor, WA 98250

(360) 370-5500

http://www.seashepherd.org

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