Greenpeace has not sent a ship down to the Southern Ocean to defend the whales since 2007, but I wish they would. The more ships down there opposing the illegal activities of the Japanese whaling fleet – the better. Greenpeace has the ships, and they certainly have the resources, and supposedly they are against whaling, so where are their ships? And where is Greenpeace when it comes to defending the dolphins at Taiji? Nowhere to be found! They have an office and staff in Japan but not a single Greenpeacer has gone to the Cove. And where is Greenpeace when it comes to defending the pilot whales in the Faeroe Islands? Nowhere to be found! Iceland? Not there. Not to be found in Norway either! They gave up defending seals in Canada decades ago. So why does much of the public think that Greenpeace is leading the fight to save the whales, dolphins and seals? It might have something to do with where Greenpeace is spending its money: Promotional mailings and Internet appeals! They need your money in order to ask more people for more money. Now I don't begrudge Greenpeace and their right to do things their way but when I am stopped on the streets in Melbourne last March and asked to donate money to send a Greenpeace ship down to Antarctica to defend the whales, I was course very inquisitive. The couple with the clipboards in hand did not recognize me, so I asked when was the last time Greenpeace had a ship in the Southern Ocean? They told me that two Greenpeace ships had just returned from saving whales. “You mean the Steve Irwin and the Bob Barker?” I asked. “Yes,” they answered. “Really,” I replied, “I believe those are Sea Shepherd ships.” “Yes,” the woman said, “but Sea Shepherd is part of Greenpeace.” I looked at her and calmly said, “No, it is not.” Defensively she said, “Yes it is!” It was then I introduced myself as the Captain of the Steve Irwin and the founder of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. She suddenly looked a little frightened and said, “I just work for Greenpeace and they told me to say what I said.” If this was a something that happened this once, it could be seen as a mistake but other members of my crew have had similar conversations with Greenpeace canvassers on the streets of Paris, Washington D.C., and Perth, Western Australia. And today I received the following internet message from Greenpeace: I have taken the liberty of adding my editorial comments (in italics). Sea Shepherd
