14 DAY TRIAL // This past weekend, a total of 14 Sea Shepherd activists were arrested after trying to save a pod of whales from being murdered by folks in the Faroe Islands. They spent several hours behind bars before finally being released from custody.
On its website, environmental group Sea Shepherd details that this clash between the 14 activists and whalers played out in the waters off the coast of the Island of Sandoy this past Saturday.
After chasing the marine mammals close to shore, the whalers readied themselves to get in the water and slaughter them. The activists tried to keep them from doing so by putting themselves between the animals and the hunters.
Despite their best efforts, the Sea Shepherd volunteers not only did not manage to save the whales, but also got arrested shortly after entering the water looking to keep the hunters from butchering the defenseless marine mammals.
The environmental group says that a total of 33 pilot whales lost their lives during this latest hunt in the Faroe Islands. Of these marine mammals, some were adults and others were juveniles, the organization goes on to detail.
Authorities in the Faroe Islands and members of the Danish Navy working closely with them did not settle for simply arresting the 14 activists. They also confiscated three boats that Sea Shepherd volunteers rely on when trying to stop mass slaughters like the one that occurred this past Saturday.
Of these boats, named Loki, the Mike Galesi, and the B.S. Sheen, the latter was offered to the organization by actor Charlie Sheen, who was quick to criticize the Danish Navy for its decision to help the whalers by seizing the environmental group's vessels.
“The 40-foot Zodiac called the 'BS SHEEN' that I donated to Mr. Watson's tireless and heroic efforts, has been shamefully seized. This level of insidious and vicious corruption must be dealt with swiftly and harshly,” actor Charlie Sheen said in a statement.
“The Faroese whalers brutally slaughtered an entire pod of 33 pilot whales today – several generations taken from the sea – and Denmark is complicit in the killing. I am proud that a vessel bearing my name was there and did all it could to try to stop this atrocity,” he added.
Despite the fact that they were released from custody the day after their arrest, the 14 Sea Shepherd activists who were involved in this incident are scheduled to make an appearance in court this coming September 25, when they will be asked to explain their actions before a judge. Presently, the boats are being held as evidence.