11/10/03
Unsung Hero of Taiji
On October 7, 2003, the day after the Sea Shepherd
crew in Taiji was first assaulted, the Sea Shepherd Conservation
Society received an e-mail from Taiji, Japan.
It was from a supporter, George McInerney, who lived in Taiji
and wanted to help. We took George up on his offer and he has
proven be an invaluable asset to the Sea Shepherd volunteers in
Taiji. He provided us with the information on the dolphin killers
including personal details about the ringleaders. He pointed out
the best places to film the slaughter and he invited the crew
into his home for e-mail and Internet access on his own computer.
At the same time he was able to communicate with the fishermen
and mislead them into thinking he was on their side to pass false
information about our crew to them and to gain additional information
from them.
At first George wanted to be covert about his involvement with
the Sea Shepherd crew and to stay in the background. The horror
of the slaughter however has convinced him that he must publicly
speak out and take a stand against the cruel killings of the dolphins
and whales.
As a teacher who has lived in Taiji for a few years, this is
a display of great courage and he should be applauded.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is happy to have a strong
ally in Taiji like George McInerney.
Following is an original correspondence in Japanese text
between George and Paul Watson. It is available either as a viewable
web page or a downloadable Acrobat PDF file:
- Page in Japanese text