Protesters Attack Whaling Ship with Acid
Three crew members of a Japanese whaling vessel suffered face and eye injuries from acid fired by anti-whaling protesters during their latest clash in the Antarctic Ocean, their Japanese employers said Friday.
The Sea Shepherd protesters said they shot butyric acid, produced from stinking rancid butter, which they often aim at the whalers to try to disrupt the annual Japanese hunt. The activists maintain that butyric acid is nontoxic.
The injuries Thursday were the first to Japanese whalers this year during confrontations with Sea Shepherd, although there have been two ship collisions that each side blamed on the other.
Japanese Fisheries Minister Hirotaka Akamatsu lashed out at the activists on Friday, telling reporters: "I am full of rage. I could not believe they did such a thing."
Glenn Inwood, spokesman for Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research, which sponsors the hunt, said the injuries were not serious, but he cautioned that butyric acid can cause temporary blindness.
The injuries occurred during a several-hour confrontation between two Sea Shepherd boats - the Steve Irwin and the Bob Barker - and four Japanese vessels.
Locky Maclean, first mate on the Steve Irwin, told The Associated Press that the Nisshin Maru, a whale processing ship, started the altercation when it turned its water cannons on the activists' vessels.
The protesters targeted the Japanese ships Shonan Maru No. 2 and the Nisshin Maru, dragging wires across their bows in a bid to tangle their rudders and propellers, the Institute of Cetacean Research said in a statement.
Japan has a six-vessel whaling fleet in Antarctic waters as part of a research program, an allowed exception to the International Whaling Commission's 1986 ban on commercial whaling. It hunts hundreds of mostly minke whales, which are not an endangered species. Whale meat not used for study is sold for consumption in Japan, which critics say is the real reason for the hunts.
Sea Shepherd, a U.S.-based activist group, sends vessels to confront the Japanese fleet each year, trying to block them from firing harpoons at the whales.
"It's been a successful week," Maclean said. "No whales have died for the last eight days we have been trailing the Nisshin Maru."
Last week, the Bob Barker and a Japanese harpoon boat collided, causing minor damage to both vessels. On Jan. 6, a Japanese whaler struck Sea Shepherd's high-tech speedboat Ady Gil, which sank a day later. No one was seriously injured in those incidents.
AP The Sea Shepherd protesters said they shot butyric acid, produced from stinking rancid butter, which they often aim at the whalers to try to disrupt the annual Japanese hunt. The activists maintain that butyric acid is nontoxic.
The injuries Thursday were the first to Japanese whalers this year during confrontations with Sea Shepherd, although there have been two ship collisions that each side blamed on the other.
Japanese Fisheries Minister Hirotaka Akamatsu lashed out at the activists on Friday, telling reporters: "I am full of rage. I could not believe they did such a thing."
Glenn Inwood, spokesman for Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research, which sponsors the hunt, said the injuries were not serious, but he cautioned that butyric acid can cause temporary blindness.
The injuries occurred during a several-hour confrontation between two Sea Shepherd boats - the Steve Irwin and the Bob Barker - and four Japanese vessels.
Locky Maclean, first mate on the Steve Irwin, told The Associated Press that the Nisshin Maru, a whale processing ship, started the altercation when it turned its water cannons on the activists' vessels.
The protesters targeted the Japanese ships Shonan Maru No. 2 and the Nisshin Maru, dragging wires across their bows in a bid to tangle their rudders and propellers, the Institute of Cetacean Research said in a statement.
Japan has a six-vessel whaling fleet in Antarctic waters as part of a research program, an allowed exception to the International Whaling Commission's 1986 ban on commercial whaling. It hunts hundreds of mostly minke whales, which are not an endangered species. Whale meat not used for study is sold for consumption in Japan, which critics say is the real reason for the hunts.
Sea Shepherd, a U.S.-based activist group, sends vessels to confront the Japanese fleet each year, trying to block them from firing harpoons at the whales.
"It's been a successful week," Maclean said. "No whales have died for the last eight days we have been trailing the Nisshin Maru."
Last week, the Bob Barker and a Japanese harpoon boat collided, causing minor damage to both vessels. On Jan. 6, a Japanese whaler struck Sea Shepherd's high-tech speedboat Ady Gil, which sank a day later. No one was seriously injured in those incidents.
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What bothers me, is they are concerned about Whales, while throwing acid in the eyes of a human....I guess to them, whales are more important then humans.
I'm not for throwing acid in the eyes of humans, either. And I'm also not for killing defenseless animals.
"Anyway, erasmus, so you have the olympics in your Province ? is Vancouver near where you live ?"
Yes.
"how's the overall weather up there...?"
Not good. Global Warming.
Ha ha ha.
nope, always USA_is_back. Just haven't been on in a few months
_______________
Well, welcome back and hopefully we can agree on more issues in the future
It smells like hell but is not dangerous..
May I ask you, have you been previously known by another nickname that I would recognize ?
I don't gived a rat's ass about the protesters or the whalers. They both should go to hell.
It's ok erasmus111, simple knowledge of Chemistry tells us that the acid would be immediately neutralized or dilluted with no effect on anything really.
What bothers me, is they are concerned about Whales, while throwing acid in the eyes of a human....I guess to them, whales are more important then humans.
Anyway, erasmus, so you have the olympics in your Province ? is Vancouver near where you live ?
how's the overall weather up there, in America's Hat (Canada) ?
Very hazardous in case of skin contact (irritant), of ingestion. Hazardous in case of eye contact (irritant), of
inhalation. Slightly hazardous in case of skin contact (corrosive, permeator). Liquid or spray mist may produce
tissue damage particularly on mucous membranes of eyes, mouth and respiratory tract. Skin contact may
produce burns. Inhalation of the spray mist may produce severe irritation of respiratory tract, characterized by
coughing, choking, or shortness of breath.
Potential Chronic Health Effects:
CARCINOGENIC EFFECTS: Not available.
MUTAGENIC EFFECTS: Not available.
TERATOGENIC EFFECTS: Not available.
DEVELOPMENTAL TOXICITY: Not available.
The substance is toxic to lungs, the nervous system, mucous membranes.
Repeated or prolonged exposure to the substance can produce target organs damage. Repeated or prolonged
"Protesters Say Butyric Acid Nontoxic"
Maybe the protesters should read the MSDS sheets...........LOL