Environmental activist Paul Watson, founder of Sea Shepherd, which has been defending whales against whaling for decades, was arrested on Sunday 21 July in Greenland. His arrest followed an international arrest warrant issued by Japan.

He has been detained until 15 August, and it is not known whether Denmark will extradite him or not.

A petition launched by Hugo Clément and addressed to French President Emmanuel Macron has been posted on the Mesopinions.com website. It calls on the French President to demand the release of Paul Watson, who at 73 could die in prison.
Our association supports this initiative and invites all those who wish to do so to sign it in support of this important figure in militant ecology.

We want this leading cetacean defender to be released as soon as possible,’ insists our President Gaëtan Van Goidsenhoven. Whaling is an outdated practice that is banned in the vast majority of countries. Persecuting this person is a denial of this almost universal awareness of the need to respect these animals, which are endowed with profound intelligence and sensitivity’.

The group estimates that 5,000 cetaceans have been saved thanks to Paul Watson and his teams.

Whaling has been banned worldwide since the 1986 moratorium.