After the slaughter of 78 pilot whales on July 7, The Modern Day Pirate for the Oceans and his crew responded to another hunt, with Faroese authorities attempting to intimidate and block the John Paul DeJoria from intercepting a pod of whales before they were killed
FAROE ISLANDS, Denmark, July 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The John Paul DeJoria arrived in the area outside of the Faroese 12-mile territorial limit on July 7th, 2023 while respecting the request to not enter Faroese territorial waters, until a "Grind" (mass whale hunt) was called near Torshavn. A Grind was called on Sunday, July 9th, 2023, at which time, the crew on the John Paul DeJoria had an ethical and moral responsibility to defend and protect the victims of the horrifically violent Grindadrap from the vicious and brutal slaughter of entire families of pilot whales. The John Paul DeJoria made way towards the location of the slaughter. Unfortunately, it was a race against time and distance to reach the location where 78 pilot whales were being cruelly slaughtered before the shocked eyes of hundreds of cruise ship passengers onboard the vessel Ambition.
A “Grind” (mass whale hunt) was called near Torshavn, and this was the result.
Operation Bloody Fjords - A Faroese police boarding party alongside frigate trying to board the John Paul DeJoria.
The John Paul DeJoria arrived in the area outside of the Faroese 12-mile territorial limit on July 7th, 2023
The aftermath of the massacre in the harbor was documented by the crew, after which without further delay the ship departed Torshavn and returned to the waters outside the 12-mile territorial limit. The JohnPaul DeJoria remained outside the 12-mile territorial limit until July 19th 2023.
The vessel Brimil shadowing the John Paul DeJoria attempted communication on several occasions. The crew on the John Paul DeJoria made the decision to ignore communication from a whaling vessel. Because the Brimil participated in the Grind, it demonstrates that there is a serious conflict of interest on the part of the police. Such participation illustrates that the police onboard the Brimil have been compromised and cannot be expected to be impartial, objective, and neutral.
On the morning of July 19th, the crew of the John Paul Dejoria was once again alerted to two pods of pilot whales near the island of Vagur. This necessitated the re-entry into Faroese waters for the purpose of defending the lives of the pilot whales from a potential Grind.
"The crew of the John Paul DeJoria was respectful of the request to not enter Faroese waters but the request is secondary to the necessity of saving the lives of intelligent, self-aware sentient beings," said Captain Paul Watson.
After re-entry into Faroese waters, the John Paul DeJoria was pursued by two Faroese Coast Guard Patrol boats. Two Coast Guard RIB's were deployed to join in the pursuit. One of the RIB's carried 14 Faroese Police officers as a boarding team to intercept the John Paul DeJoria.
Numerous attempts to board the John Paul DeJoria were attempted but were unsuccessful.
A small pod of pilot whales inside the Bay were caught and had tags drilled and bolted into their dorsal fins. The pod of pilot whales outside the bay escaped to the open sea.
As a result a Grindadrap was not called and not a single pilot whale was slaughtered today.
ABOUT CAPTAIN PAUL WATSON FOUNDATION: The Captain Paul Foundation is a non-profit marine conservation organization established in 2022 by Captain Paul Watson, a world renowned and respected leader in environmental issues, co-founder of Greenpeace, and founder of Sea Shepherd and Omar Todd, a tech entrepreneur. Its mission is to end the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the world's oceans to conserve and protect ecosystems and species. Captain Paul Watson Foundation uses innovative direct-action tactics to investigate, document, and act when necessary to expose and confront illegal activities on the high seas. Visitwww.paulwatsonfoundation.org for more information.
ABOUT OPERATION BLOODY FJORDS: Operation Bloody Fjords is focused on intercepting the "grindadrap" - the Faroese name for their drive hunts of pilot whales and dolphins - which have no limiting quota or hunt season. This past month, Captain Paul Watson set sail in the Foundation's flagship, the "John Paul DeJoria," into Faroese waters to challenge the grindadrap hunts, as well as the government and authorities which actively defend the killing of over 1150 small cetaceans each year. Through the use of aggressive non-violence and direct intervention, the Captain Paul Watson Foundation intends to uphold international conservation law to save the lives of pilot whales and dolphins.
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