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Anti-whaling campaigner Paul Watson arrested in Greenland. He faces possible extradition to Japan
Greenland police say they have apprehended veteran environmental activist and anti-whaling campaigner Paul Watson on an international arrest warrant issued by Japan
ByThe Associated Press
July 21, 2024, 10:14 AM
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BERLIN — Greenland police said they apprehended veteran environmental activist and anti-whaling campaigner Paul Watson on an international arrest warrant issued by Japan.
Watson, a 73-year-old Canadian-American citizen, is a former head of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society whose direct action tactics, including high-seas confrontations with whaling vessels, have drawn support from A-list celebrities and featured in the reality television series “Whale Wars.”
He was arrested Sunday when his ship docked in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, a police statement said. He later appeared before a district court to look into a request to detain him pending a decision on his possible extradition to Japan, the statement said.
Whale meat is an element of Japanese food culture, and the government says it supports the sustainable use of whales.
On Monday, the Captain Paul Watson Foundation said in an emailed comment that the veteran environmentalist would be detained in Nuuk at least until Aug. 15, following the court’s decision, to give the Danish justice ministry time to investigate the case and possible extradition. He faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison in Japan, according to the foundation.
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His foundation also said the Greenland court wouldn’t allow Watson’s release on bail as he was considered a flight risk.
The foundation described more than a dozen police officers boarding the vessel and leading Watson away in handcuffs when it stopped to refuel. The foundation said the ship, along with 25 volunteer crew members, was en route to the North Pacific on a mission to intercept a new Japanese whaling ship.
“The arrest is believed to be related to a former Red Notice issued for Captain Watson’s previous anti-whaling interventions in the Antarctic region,” the foundation said in an emailed statement on Sunday.
“We implore the Danish government to release Captain Watson and not entertain this politically-motivated request,” Locky MacLean, the foundation director, said in the statement.
Interpol, the international police body based in Lyon, France, which issues Red Notices for wanted people, confirmed that a valid one was outstanding for Watson at the request of Japan.
“It is each member country’s decision whether to arrest an individual who is the subject of a Red Notice, which is not an international arrest warrant,” the Interpol press office said.
Neither the Japan Coast Guard nor Japan’s Foreign Ministry, which had issued the international warrant for Watson, confirmed they are negotiating Watson’s handover. However, the coast guard, the primary investigative authority in Watson’s case in Japan, said Monday that officials were on standby if a handover is ordered.
Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark. Japan does not have an extradition treaty with the European country and it is unknown if or when Watson would be handed over.
It’s not the first time his tactics brought him head-to-head with authorities. He was detained in Germany in 2012 on a Costa Rican extradition warrant but skipped bail after learning that he was also sought for extradition by Japan, which has accused him of endangering whalers’ lives during operations in the Antarctic Ocean. He has since lived in countries including France and the United States.
Watson, who left Sea Shepherd in 2022 to set up his own organization, was also a leading member of Greenpeace, but left in 1977 amid disagreements over his aggressive tactics.
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According to his foundation, Watson’s current ship, the M/Y John Paul DeJoria, was due to sail through the Northwest Passage to the North Pacific to confront a newly built Japanese factory whaling ship, “a murderous enemy devoid of compassion and empathy hell bent on destroying the most intelligent self-aware sentient beings in the sea.”
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Mari Yamaguchi contributed to this report from Tokyo, Japan.
With the Spread of Chronic Wasting Disease, It’s Now Illegal to Rehabilitate Fawns in Tennessee
Infectious Disease
Two More Bird Flu Cases Reported in Colorado Poultry Workers
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By:
Published on:
Jul 22, 2024, 4:27 am
Updated on:
Jul 22, 2024, 4:27 am
MONDAY, July 22, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Two more cases of bird flu have been reported in Colorado poultry workers, but reassuring research finds the virus doesn’t seem to be fueling silent infections, U.S. health officials report.
The two additional H5N1 avian flu infections bring the total in that state to six, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a health advisory posted Friday.
“Since April 2024, 10 human cases of avian influenza A[H5] infection have been reported in the United States. Four of these cases were associated with exposure to sick dairy cows and six were associated with exposure to H5N1-infected poultry,” the CDC stated. “This includes two additional cases in Colorado that were confirmed by CDC this week and not previously reported. The two new cases were in poultry workers with exposure to infected poultry during depopulation and disposal activities. Similar to previous cases, illness was mild.”
Along with the new cases, the agency offered up some good news: Last month, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services launched a study of 35 workers who were around cows sickened by the bird flu.
One question that researchers wanted to tackle was if there were people who never had symptoms but showed evidence of past infections. However, none of the blood testing showed antibodies that would indicate past infection, the CDC reported.
“This is an important finding because it suggests that asymptomatic infections in people are not occurring and provides support to the current testing approach — i.e., collecting samples from symptomatic people who have been exposed to sick animals,” the agency noted in its advisory.
Since 2020, a bird flu virus has been spreading among mammals — including even alpacas. Earlier this year the virus, known as H5N1, was detected in U.S. dairy cows, and it is now circulating in livestock in multiple states.
The cases reported earlier this year were among dairy farm workers in Michigan, Texas and Colorado.
As of last Friday, the H5N1 virus has been confirmed in 157 dairy cow herds in 13 states. Since April 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has reported bird flu cases in 34 commercial flocks and 16 backyard flocks, for a total of 18.3 million birds affected.
More information
The CDC has more on the bird flu outbreak.
SOURCES: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, news release, July 19, 2024
Exposing the Big Game 