Friday, March 7, 2008

Whale Wars-Captain Paul Watson Claims to be Shot

Just when you thought this years Southern Whale hunt could not get any more dramatic, there's word today that Captain Paul Watson of Sea Shepherd has been shot. He's unharmed...and talking to the media.

In fact there's also video.

What prompted the shooting, according to those on site, was a rotten butter attack by the crew of the Sea Shepherd upon the Japanese whale fleet...yes, a rotten butter attack.

One question, why was Paul Watson wearing a Kevlar vest in the first place?

CNN-Japanese whalers and anti-whaling activists clashed in the waters near Antarctica on Friday, with each side offering conflicting accounts of a confrontation with violent overtones.

The official said a whaling crew member threw a device that explodes with a warning bang to discourage the activists. The crew member threw the device after activists threw a foul-smelling acid found in rotten butter toward the whaling ship, the official said.

Watson was shot, the group said, and two others were injured. A 35-year-old from Australia hurt his hip trying to dodge a flash grenade, and a 33-year-old Australian received bruises after a flash grenade exploded near him.

An official the Japanese Fisheries Agency said the Sea Shepherd began throwing smelly chemicals toward the whaling vessel around 12:36 p.m. local time. About an hour later, the official said, a safety officer aboard the whaling vessel threw a ball that explodes to produce a warning bang.

"They might have mistaken that was a shooting sound," the official said. "We are not shooting a gun or anything at them."

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