We couldn’t have done it without help from dozens of people. It was truly awe-inspiring to see folks from Chicago, NYC, Portland, and as far away as Holland come together to help out a grassroots sanctuary in rural Indiana. We couldn’t have done it without all of the people who donated and helped spread the word. It really was a grassroots effort.

We heard today that the money is being transferred to our account, so we plan to get started really soon. We will keep you up-to-date on work days and progress through this blog, Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, and our newsletter. (Have you signed up for our free email newsletter?)

We are really excited about this next step. Are you?

As if that wasn’t enough good news, here is some more from the past couple of weeks:

• Charges were dropped against the AETA 4! As animal liberationists, we are really excited about this. Now we can go back to chalking sidewalks without being charged with terrorism (we hope).
• BP and the Coast Guard reached an agreement to stop burning sea turtles trapped in the oil spill. BP still needs to do much, much more, so don’t think this is letting them off the hook.
• Zimbabwe stopped the sale of elephants and other wildlife to North Korea.
• Obama administration argued against commercial whaling at IWC. This one truly is a victory of the masses. LOTS of people fought to make this happen. Keep taking action… it works.

I’m sure there is more good news. Feel free to share in the comments.

]]> http://blog.deeprootssanctuary.org/2010/07/thank-you/feed/ 0 http://blog.deeprootssanctuary.org/2007/11/japan-seeks-to-kill-1000-whales/ http://blog.deeprootssanctuary.org/2007/11/japan-seeks-to-kill-1000-whales/#comments Fri, 23 Nov 2007 17:10:00 +0000 eChris http://blog.deeprootssanctuary.org/2007/11/japan-seeks-to-kill-1000-whales/ Ignoring the global moratorium on killing whales for commercial use, Japan has decided to provoke yet another fight over marine life. Heading to the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, Japan has announced plans to kill 1,000 whales, including endangered fin whales and humpbacks, in the name of “scientific research.” Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and Greenpeace have both departed to intervene.

“The Japanese government’s “scientific” whaling program is a sham and a source of diplomatic tension between Japan and countries that support whale conservation, like the United States. Whaling has no place in Antarctica – it’s a place of peace and science, and this is not science,” said Karli Thomas, expedition leader aboard Greenpeace’s Esperanza.

Greenpeace is collaborating with a team of scientists on the “Great Whale Trail” project to prove that you don’t need to kill whales to study them. The project uses data from satellite tagging of whales, harmless skin biopsies and fluke identification.

“Japan’s whalers are deceiving the Japanese public by painting the word “research” on their ships,” said Junichi Sato, Greenpeace Japan Whales Project leader. “Real scientists don’t need to kill whales to study them. This is commercial whaling poorly dressed up as science.”

The Japanese fleet will consist of four whaling ships, including the 8,000-ton Nisshin Maru (pictured to the right being approached by Sea Shepherd’s Robert Hunter). While Greenpeace has announced that they will track the Japanese fleet through the duration of its hunt, the Sea Shepherd says it will stick to its traditional role of enforcing international law and preventing the hunt from taking place using direct action.

“I did not establish the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society as a protest organization,” said Captain Watson, founder of Sea Shepherd. “I have not gone to sea over all these years to simply bear witness to the atrocities that whalers continue to inflict upon the most gentle and intelligent beings in the seas. We are sea cops-operating legally under the guidelines of the United Nation’s World Charter for Nature, which allow for the enforcement of international conservation law by non-governmental organizations in international jurisdictions.”

If you would like to help stop the whale hunt, you can do the following:

Donate to Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
Tell Japan to stop the whale hunt
Donate to Greenpeace

Read more about this on from Greenpeace and Sea Shepherd.

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