Have you ever wondered just what kind of effort it takes to stop a whaling ship? An exciting (and somewhat controversial) new hybrid activist documentary/drama/reality show is airing on Animal Planet November 7th, 2008 – Whale Wars – a behind the scenes look at the campaigns of famous (infamous to some) anti-whale activist and Sea Shepherd Captain Paul Watson.
Paul Watson founded his Sea Shepherd Conservation Society in 1977 because he wanted to go even further to eradicate whaling, poaching, shark finning and habitat destruction — and to uphold international conservation laws on the high seas — than the Greenpeace group he had co-founded was prepared to go.
During their anti-whaling 2007-2008 campaign, Animal Planet captured the Sea Shepherd at work, including their trials and tribulations, in a seven-part, hour-long weekly series called Whale Wars, premiering Friday, November 7 at 9 PM. Whale Wars draws attention to the global conservation issue that has caused international friction between nations over the practice of whaling in oceanic territories. We caught up with Captain Paul Watson to ask him a few questions about his new program Whale Wars and why whales matter to our survival as a species.
If we destroy the whales, we will destroy our oceans and if the oceans die, civilization will collapse and humanity will become extinct.
Why put so much effort into protecting the whales?
Sea Shepherd has campaigns to protect all ocean life species from plankton to the whales. The simple answer to this is if we cannot save a species as intelligent, as magnificent as the whale, then we will not save anything else. If we destroy the whales, we will destroy our oceans and if the oceans die, civilization will collapse and humanity will become extinct. In protecting the oceans, we protect ourselves.
Why did you decide to make a TV program about your anti-whaling work?
Whale Wars gives us the opportunity to take millions of people to one of the most remote and hostile areas of the planet to participate as viewers with men and women from around the world who are risking their lives to protect endangered whales from illegal whaling activities. We believe this will be a very important educational show and at the same time, viewers will be enthralled with the splendor of Antarctica and the drama of our interventions.
How would you describe Whale Wars?
I would describe it as a dramatically effective educational reality show. In essence it is a docu-drama.
Will this sort of show change the face of environmental activism?
Millions of people will be made aware of the conditions in our oceans and the threats to the whales and we will present them with solutions that they can support. We don't take pictures of whales being killed; we prevent whales from being killed. We provide real results in a very dramatic campaign that I believe will capture the imagination of many people.
Whale Wars is an opportunity for people from around the world...to witness our efforts to protect one of the most magnificent species on the planet from the cruel harpoons of pirate whalers.
Did the TV film crew's presence affect your, and the crew’s behavior?
After a few days, the crew were hardly aware they were there. They forgot about the cameras and carried on with their work as normal. The TV crew did not participate in any strategy or planning meetings. They did not give advice or make recommendations. They simply ran the cameras and the microphones. Some of them did play poker with the crew at night.
Did the film crew presence affect the whalers' behaviour/actions?
I don't think so. They have always seen us with cameras onboard and they themselves have cameras onboard. To the Japanese seeing cameras is somewhat normal. They certainly acted like they did not care about the cameras.
What sort of impact are you hoping Whale Wars will have?
I hope it enables people to be more aware of the oceans and of whaling and the efforts to defend the whales. More awareness will mean more pressure to defend and protect life in our oceans. Whale Wars is an opportunity for people from around the world to join us on a voyage to the most remote and hostile seas in the world and to witness our efforts to protect one of the most magnificent species on the planet from the cruel harpoons of pirate whalers. We think people will be thrilled by the drama and at the same time they will be educated to the reality of what is happening on our oceans, until now, out of sight and out of mind.
Resources
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society: http://www.seashepherd.org/
Whale Wars: http://animal.discovery.com/tv/whale-wars/
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