AGGRESSIVE NON-VIOLENCE

09/21/2022

The Effectiveness of The Strategy of Aggressive Non-violence

There are some calling themselves Sea Shepherd who want to diminish our history of applied aggressive non-violence. There are criticisms from some that our history is an embarrassment and my personal history and reputation is problematic.

What is aggressive non-violence?

It is a strategy I devised on 1977 when I founded Sea Shepherd and it means direct action intervention against illegal activities exploiting marine wildlife. It is an approach that obstructs, blocks and sabotages ships and equipment used for illegal activities causing damage to marine eco-systems and violence against living sentient beings. It is a strategy that operates within the boundaries of international law with the principle of not causing death or injury to any person or living being.

This is the strategy that ended illegal whaling in the Southern Ocean and shut down all pirate whaling activities in the Atlantic. It is the strategy that shut down Icelandic whaling for 17 years, undermined the commercial market for Canadian seal products, boldly documented illegal whaling in the Soviet Union, shut down drift net operations worldwide and undertook the longest pursuit of a poaching ship in maritime history ending with the sinking without loss of life of the notorious poaching ship Thunder.

Our best endorsements always came from our enemies as in this statement by the Japanese government announcing their whaling haul from the Southern Ocean was at a record low because of the “unforgivable sabotage” by Sea Shepherd activists.

With my new Foundation I intend to continue this strategy of aggressive non-violence. It is a strategy that has worked for 45 years and I see no need to diminish our effectiveness by abandoning one of our most important tools for defending and protecting life and diversity in the sea.