The incident occurred early in the morning on Easter Monday, luckily nobody was hurt

Apr 22, 2014 08:22 GMT  ·  By
Sea Shepherd activist claims to have been cornered and threatened by seal killed in village in Scotland
   Sea Shepherd activist claims to have been cornered and threatened by seal killed in village in Scotland

Sea Shepherd activists are no strangers to being bullied, especially by the Japanese whaling fleet. However, it appears that this past Monday marked the first time when a member of this organization had a rather violent run-in with seal killers in Scotland.

On its website, the environmental group details that, on Easter morning, the campaign crew of Sea Shepherd UK found themselves in the coastal village of Gardenstown, close to the local harbor.

The activists were there to monitor and document the seal hunts that take place in that part of the world on a regular basis, supposedly in order to keep said marine mammals from eating one too many fish and thus reduce the profit that local fishermen can make.

At about 8 in the morning, a member of Sea Shepherd UK's campaign crew in Gardenstown found himself attacked by seal killers working with the Scottish Wild Salmon Company. One of the people who cornered the environmental was carrying a rifle, and all of them appeared anything but friendly.

“The crewmember had the presence of mind to keep his camera running throughout, and the situation was saved when other members of the Sea Shepherd campaign crew arrived with their own cameras,” the organization writes on its website.

“Realizing that any further illegal acts on their part were being recorded, the thugs backed away and returned to their command base,” Sea Shepherd details.

The environmental group explains that, in the aftermath of this clash between the campaign crew of Sea Shepherd UK and employees of the Scottish Wild Salmon Company, it has contacted the local police in Scotland. The greenheads are confident that charges will be filed against the people behind the attack.

The organization maintains that, although it is true that having seals feast on fish swimming in Scottish waters might be a problem for local fishermen, the fact remains that killing these marine mammals is by no means the proper way to deal with the situation.

On the contrary, Sea Shepherd recommends that, instead of tracking down and shooting seals, businesses such as the Scottish Wild Salmon Company opt for so-called Acoustic Deterrent Devices to keep such animals at bay. Doing so might prove a tad more expensive, but there is no denying that this is the humane way to solve the problem.

What's more, the environmental group argues that salmon netting companies have only themselves to blame for the fact that seals are messing with their working agenda. “Seals in this area do not normally eat salmon, but when salmon netting companies trap wild fish in large numbers, it is only natural that the captured fish attract seals,” Sea Shepherd says.

“Moreover, the wild salmon that are heading up the coast are being caught by fishermen before they have a chance to spawn, so the fishing itself is killing this particular fishery and is therefore completely unsustainable,” it further argues.