The most recent event in the Sea Shepard Conservation Society vs. the Japanese whalers has a bit of a terrorist like feeling. Today the SSCS harrassed the whalers by throwing bottles of rotten butter and slippery oil on the decks of their ships. The rotten butter, besides causing a terrible lingering stench, also releases the chemical Butyric acid which is an irretant to the skin and eyes.
A crew member of the whaling vessel and 2 coast guard officials complained of having stinging pain in their eyes. Japan's Fisheries Agency plan to file complaints with Australia and the Netherlands (SSCS fly a Dutch flag). Sea Shepherd leader Paul Watson says they didn't do anything harmful since the Butyric acid hit actually hit the crew member's bodies.
Read the article here.
Personally I feel this is a rather childish and nasty way of protesting. I don't think it does much more then cause some minor bodily harm to the crew members. I am in no way supporting whaling, and am I also in no way supporting the Sea Sheppards antics.
Also it seems that a lot of western people think that the Japanese are a whale hungry, blood thristy, ignorant bunch of thick-headed freaks. Most people do not consume whale meat, it's not a commonly available item. There are even Japanese who oppose whaling! Oh shock and awe! I think Shouma basically summed up Japanese feelings towards/reasons for whaling - they whale certain types of whale that are big eaters of fishes Japanese commonly eat. So less whale equals more fish. It's not kind to whales, but it does hint of some sort of logical thought patterns.
However, nothing is going to be solved by cheap chemical warfare, I'm afraid
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