Paul Watson Interview

Paul Watson, founder of the Sea Shepherd conservations Society has given a frank and fair interview for the record…

The questions were asked by Peter Brown, a film director who has worked with Sea Shepherd since 1982.

Interview With Captain Paul Watson

Peter Brown: The Canadian government has seized your ship the Farley Mowat. Is this a bad thing for Sea Shepherd?

Captain Paul Watson: No it’s a good thing. The Canadian government took our ship in international waters with an armed boarding party. That was an illegal act of piracy and I am confident that Alex Cornelissen and Peter Hammarstedt will be exonerated. I mean when you really think about it, the entire affair is ludicrous. Our ship was seized and two men arrested for taking pictures of seals being killed.

We will win this case and when we do, the government will have to return our ship and they will have to return it in the condition they took it and we will sue them if they do not.

Peter Brown: So do you regard the seal campaign for this year as a success or a failure.

Captain Paul Watson: I regard it as a success beyond our expectations. We brought attention to Canada’s seal slaughter internationally and especially in Europe and this will contribute tremendously towards encouraging European Parliamentarians to vote on a bill this year to ban seal products.

Peter Brown: You did not win many friends in Atlantic Canada. Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams called you a terrorist and said you are not welcome in his province. Loyola Hearn said that he was the new Wyatt Earp and you’re not welcome in Dodge City anymore. Does that bother you?

Captain Paul Watson: It amuses me. I know that Canada is a nation that has produced some great Comedians like Buster Keaton, Jim Carey, John Candy, Dan Aykroyd, for example and Danny and Loyola should be included in that list. Wyatt Earp really breaks me up – I love it.

What they don’t understand is that we don’t care what people in Atlantic Canada think of us. We are not playing to them. We are reaching out to inform Europeans because the Europeans have the power to end this slaughter. We discovered years ago that the only tactic that will work is to destroy the market for the grisly products of the seal trade.

Danny Williams should either arrest me or shut up. Calling me a terrorist may be cute but it has no foundation in reality. I’ve never injured anyone, been convicted of a crime, nor am I under investigation for any crime. And if I want to go to Newfoundland I will – I am a Canadian citizen and Danny Williams has no right to restrict my access to a province that is a part of my country. He is arrogant in the extreme if he thinks he can do so.

Peter Brown: You seem to have had a good crew for the seal campaign?