Activists hurl stink bombs at Japanese whaling ship

There has to be more adult like methods of protesting.

Two boats belonging to the U.S.-based environmental group Sea Shepherd approached the Japanese whaling vessel Yushin Maru No. 2 (YS2) and launched 40 bottles containing paint and butyric acid,

The agency called Sea Shepherd's actions "extremely dangerous acts which threaten the safety of our country's vessels and the life of its crew."

Lucky for them that is all they got and SSCS didn't throw the iron grappling hooks and the bamboo poles, that they collected from a previous Japanese whaling fleet attack on them, back into their face. What would have they said about it if even paint and butyric acid is life threatening for them?

What did you expect? Them to march down the street in an orderly line to shibuya like the protests in Japan?

Anna Louise - I think the justification is that if the population of whales can survive an annual hunt of 900 animals, it provides a way of judging a sustainable level. Unfortunately I fail to see how killing 900 animals will provide a measure of the total population or the effect of hunting on it. If this is what the hunt is at a "research" level, I wonder what it would be if Japan returned to a commercial operation? Asuza-san, one of the big issues with hunting whales is their low breeding rate. It's taken decades for the humpback populations to recover from commercial whaling. I wonder what the "carbon miles" would be for the southern ocean hunt considering the distances travelled? Could the southern ocean hunt really be maintained without Government assistance?

"the fleet aiming to catch around 900 minke and fin whales," We most Japanese (who never eat whales nor even think about it ) would've never known just how many whales r being caught by Japan. Our ignorance is worse than those catching whales.

Why do some commenters have a problem with what other people eat? Do whale eaters tell you people what to eat?

If you don't want to eat whales, just don't. No need to deny others their rights.

Japan's research and the right to catch whales is internationally recognised. The whales are plentiful, you don't need to worry about them going endangered because of some tiny number being caught each year.

What you do need to worry about is the eco-terrorism being tolerated by Australia.

why throw acid and paint at a ship in the Antarctic? What's that going to do? It must get washed/blown off very quickly. Why would the Japanese worry about this? What's the point?

Aus Media are also reporting Tear Gas being fired, but it's not clear who is Tear Gassing who......

ObviousDemonJan. 22, 2012 - 08:01AM JST Aus Media are also reporting Tear Gas being fired, but it's not clear who is Tear Gassing who......

No they are quoting WAtson saying that. But he's been using that line since 1984 accusing the Faroes poilice of using tear gas, and last season using a photo of the Japanese whalers testing onboard fire extinguishers as proof that they were using "tear gas guns", you can rest assured it's Watson's typical total nonsense. Tear gas can't be used on ships at sea unless you want to tear gas yourself in the process.

Indeed, Azusa Susie. The whale hunt is entirely unnecessary. It has no scientific value and culturally, as you say, it only pertains to a very small coastal population, mostly in Shikoku. Anyway, even they started commercial ocean-going whaling only in the 19th century. One gets the feeling that the continued whale hunt is only because of macho defiance to foreign criticism by some chauvinistic circles.

One would hope there'd be more adult-like methods of protest but what could they be? Sea Shepherd -- and Greenpeace even more so -- stay within legal boundaries and refrain from violence. What they mostly do is try to bring this to the world attention and shame Japan to accept international norms. But alas it doesn't faze them much.

Cant imagine thats gonna bother the guys on deck who gut fish for a living

Azusa Suzie, With my mother being japanese, she's never eaten whale and questions why it is important to inhumanely kill an endangered form of intelligent life.

It amazes me that this illegality on the part of Sea Shepherd is allowed to continue. I guess when the international elite have a pet cause, the law gets thrown out the window. No surprise there. But please don't describe these "rat" whales as endangered. They are not endangered like the larger whales such as the sperm or right whales.

Aus Media are also reporting Tear Gas being fired, but it's not clear who is Tear Gassing who......

Japan has been using that for the last 2 years, they have the spray in backpacks and fire it, in a previous year they fired it into the wind and were covered it their own gas. Of course they reported that they were attacked but the video clearly showed their mistake.

trying to protect the whales yet you throw paint and acid.......both harmful to marine life including whales once in the water....idiots. And yeah whale is tasty. Dont see people from India telling us dont eat cows because they are revered there. No they do their thing and let others do theirs. These Eco Protectors make me sick...especialy with the paint and acid going into the water fouling up my whale meat on my next trip to Japan

“YS2 gave warnings, by voice..."

"WARNING,WARNING..." These robotic prerecorded warnings are typical and haven't changed in years. You'd think that would update them by now.

stink bombs - hehe same thing year after year. Anything new for Sea Shepherd, aka Sea chickens, they need to go do this stuff up North in Nordic land. Oh! and we eat Whale meat in Fiji too by the way. SO please come down South as well.

And these eco terrorists wonder why they get attacked back?.....

Keep the ships from going into protected waters and they won't get stink bombed! The same stupidity that drives Tepco is the same mentality that sanctions illigal taking of Whales! If you can't see the danger in that, then your stupid enough to believe everything your told! Whales are not fish! This ignornance sickens me! Power to the activists!

Ironically Sea Shepherds are killing the whales slowly by throwing acids and paint which eventually mixes into the water. Ofcourse members of Sea Shepherd will get injured if they cause these activities in the sea, that's a good lesson for them. It's just a matter of time that someone dies and they suddenly realize that what they do is extremely dangerous and think that they shoudln't have do it in the first place. Forest Rescue Austrailia can just turn around and stick with the stuff they actually do.

Vikingflute - One would hope there'd be more adult-like methods of protest but what could they be? Sea Shepherd -- and Greenpeace even more so -- stay within legal boundaries and refrain from violence.

HAHAHAHA. The eco-terrorist SS brag that they've sunk 10 ships. What legal boundary is that within? The eco-terrorist SS brag that they have rammed 4 Japanese vessels. How is that refraining from violence? The eco-terrorist SS repeatedly launch glass bottles of acid, shoot red phosphorus flares and throw grappling hooks at the fishermen, whalers, and security crews. The eco-terrorist SS has repeatedly tried to disable ships in internation water with lines that they drag across their intended victims bows. The eco-terrorist SS has fired rifles at other vessels. The eco-terrorist Watson filled the bow of an eco-terrorist vessel with concrete and rammed a whaler, twice, while it was still in port. The eco-terrorist Watson and his crews have been arrested several times and run out of several countries because of their REPEATED acts of violence.

The eco-terrorist Watson and his minions have been PRO-violence from it's very beginning and anyone who supports the eco-terrorist SS are PRO-violence also. Anything for the cause.

ObviousDemon - Aus Media are also reporting Tear Gas being fired, but it's not clear who is Tear Gassing who......

Hahahaha, the "Aus Media" are only parroting what the eco-terrorist Watson said.

The more illegal and stupid actions taken by SS leads to more Japanese public being more neutral (rather than questioning it) or even in support for whaling...

Yahoo Japan comment boards started lighting up stating that SS ships should be sunk right after the media started reporting about SS interference.

I am going to organise a flash mob sometime this month or the next if any SS supporters here are interested. I reckon some interpretive dance and pantomime with a clear message of Save the Whales! should blow the minds of the Japanese who will become our audience. But as I am a newbie to Japan I can't decide best place and time. Any suggestions wouild be helpful. Thanks.

Azusa Suzie, the whale slaughter methods are truly heinous and inhumane.

The eco-terrorist Watson continually whines about his intended victims DEFENDING themselves.

How DARE they fight back against the stupid and dangerous actions of the incompetents that man the eco-terrorist playing-pirate boats.

Vikingflute, I first found about Japan whaling when I was living in Tasmania, Australia, surprising hey. But in fact in Japan before the fact was hardly in news. Only recently this started to appear even my local paper of Kagoshima, Japan. When I first heard the Japan whaling bashing news in Australia my first honest thought was, "well, u western people breed tons of cows and kills each year". But now I know these issues r separate and after seeing whale breeding on TV, because of its enormous size, the cruelty looks as bad as slaughtering humans.

why it is important to inhumanely kill an endangered form of intelligent life.

FYI Minke whales are not endangered. The problem is with killing the species, whales, just like killing the dolphins in Tajimi and other places in Japan. There is no true need to do either.

I fail to understand why a Japanese whaling vessel needs to collect 900 whales for research! I wish the government would put this into writing instead of just keeping quiet on an issue that bothers the world, including the Japanese people. When hundreds of whales beach themselves, all I see is humane Japanese going out there and trying to keep the whales alive and get them back into the water, just like they do in other countries. Unfortunately, like in my own country of Australia, I get asked by family and friends, 'Why do the Japanese have to eat whale?' I keep saying, the issue at hand has totally nothing to do with people eating whale, but I can't, for the life of me, come up with a sensible answer as to why these whale research vessels need to collect such an enormous amount of whales. Where on earth are you going to put 900 whales to do your research on?

Where on earth are you going to put 900 whales to do your research on?

In cold storage, and slowly trickle it out over the year to the supermarket shelves and school dinners.

wow real mature! i hate those Activists -_-#

Green Wowser.

Going to perform the Haka? Have fun most demonstrations of any kind are ignored in Japan, including the right-wingers.

As for resident SS supporters, reckon you won't get a big crowd together. Most talk the talk but don't walk the walk.

Looking forward to the Youtube video.

Good on SS! Keep it up! Of course, the Japanese terrorists will throw more grappling hooks and try hitting them with bamboo poles ACTUALLY threatening lives, whereas a bit of rotten butter does nothing, but hey, Japan will play the "we're just engaging in cultural tradition way down here in the Southern Ocean!" forgetting that two seconds before they claimed it was for 'science'.