NT:Whalers file lawsuit against Sea Shepherd

AAP General News (Australia)
12-09-2011
NT:Whalers file lawsuit against Sea Shepherd

By Xavier La Canna

DARWIN, Dec 9 AAP - Japanese whalers have filed a lawsuit in the United States in a
bid to prevent "acts of violence" by Sea Shepherd activists during this year's hunt.

In a statement Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR), and Kyodo Senpaku Kaisha
Ltd, which operates the whaling vessels, said they had filed the lawsuit to establish
legal protection of their ships and crews.

"Sea Shepherd has made numerous attempts to foul ships' propellers with ropes, potentially
placing the crews and vessels in extreme danger," the statement read.

It said last whaling season the hunt was cut short because of concerns for the safety
of the crews and vessels.

"Unfortunately Sea Shepherd is escalating its acts of violence and this has left us
with no choice but to file the safety-at-sea lawsuit," the whalers said on Friday.

Each year activists from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society confront Japanese whalers
in the waters around Antarctica.

They use weapons such as propeller foulers and stink bombs to frustrate whaling efforts.

In the past Sea Shepherd ships and Japanese vessels have collided, although both sides
blamed each other for the strikes.

Spokesman for the whalers, Gavin Carter, told AAP from Washington that the lawsuit
would only target violent activities, and not peaceful protest actions.

He said the lawsuit, filed in the US District Court in Seattle on Thursday (local time)
did not seek monetary compensation from Sea Shepherd, but did seek a permanent stop to
the activists' actions.

Each year Japan's whaling fleet heads south to the Southern Ocean near Antarctica to
conduct so-called "scientific whaling".

The hunt is allowed under a loophole in the International Whaling Commission's ban
on commercial whaling.

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KEYWORD: LEGAL: WHALING

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