Some people really need to get their priorities straight.
That is what immediately sprung to mind when I viewed footage of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's ship Steve Irwin ramming a tuna cage while at least two men were located on the gangway. As I saw the ship approaching the net and the men scampering for their lives I could not believe that the captain of the Steve Irwin was valuing the tuna’s existence more than that of fellow human beings.
When I hear of animal-rights activists killing scientists who conduct experiments on animals, I cannot help but think that these people really have warped thinking. Over the past few years we have witnessed an increasing number of researchers whose families have been harassed and terrorized in their own homes with weapons that include firebombs, flooding and acid. In some cases the intimidation escalated to such a level that scientists, particularly the ones with children, were left with no option other than to abandon their research
It is admirable that there are people who are willing to fight for the rights of animals – I applaud them for their passion and for their commitment. However sometimes it is clear that in the excitement of it all, they lose perspective. How on earth can they justify terrorizing or even killing a human being purportedly to defend the rights of a mouse or a guinea pig?
Sometimes I wonder what these people would do if they were to get some terrible life-threatening disease that can only be cured using medicines that were developed using animal testing. Would they have the courage of their convictions and refuse the medication – or is it just other people’s lives they are so cavalier about?
The captain of the Steve Irwin is claiming that his crew’s actions were justified because there is a possibility that the fishermen were poaching. However they have not proven these allegations, and more importantly they have not explained who has authorised them to go around acting like policemen of the waves, taking the law into their own hands and wreaking havoc in the process.
Frankly I don’t give a rat’s behind whether the tuna in the cage were caught legally or not. If the crew of the Steve Irwin were concerned that the tuna had been caught after the closing of the season, then they should have taken action through legal channels – they had no right whatsoever to act as judge, jury and executioner.
Captain Paul Watson wants us to believe that he acted the way he did to ensure that international laws were upheld. The reality, however, is that his behaviour shows that he is the one who thinks he is above the law.
The crew of the Steve Irwin clearly think that the end justifies the means. They are willing to do whatever it takes in order to save tuna.
In their eyes, that makes them heroes.
In mine, they are nothing but irresponsible idealists – the new pirates of the Mediterranean.
