Sea Shepherd Releases Disturbing Video
Environmental organization Sea Shepherd has released a video that some people may find disturbing.
The video shows Australian actor David Field portraying the death of a whale: pursued until the point of exhaustion, shot with an explosive harpoon causing massive internal injuries, dragged violently to a ship then shot some more before taking up to an hour to die.
That is the reality of whaling today, says Sea Shepherd.
In the “Ultimate Death Scene,” Field takes on the role of a whale which is hunted and shot. Field, who has starred in film roles including Chopper, The Inbetweeners 2 and Two Hands, graphically recreates the slaughter.
The film was created by independent Sydney advertising agency The Works. It aims to increase awareness of whaling and encourage donations to Sea Shepherd so they can continue to campaign to end whaling.
Field said: “The cruelty inflicted on whales is shocking and while most people abhor whaling I think many don’t realize just how brutally these sea mammals are butchered. As a supporter of Sea Shepherd I want to bring this barbaric practice to the attention of as many people as possible in the hope that we can get it stopped.”
Jeff Hansen, managing director of Sea Shepherd Australia said: “The slaughter of these beautiful and majestic whales is horrifying, it needs to stop now. No one will ever know the pain and suffering these playful, gentle giants go through from the time the explosive harpoon ripped through their bodies to the time they drew their last breath in a red sea full of their own blood. One thing is for sure, Sea Shepherd will do whatever it takes to ensure no more whales have to endure pain and suffering at the hands of these whale butchers.”
Paul Swann, creative partner at The Works said: “Those who care about marine wildlife really feel something deeply when they see whaling taking place, we sought to harness this feeling to generate the maximum impact.”
More than 25,000 whales have been killed under the guise of scientific research and commercial purposes by Iceland, Norway and Japan since the International Whaling Commission (IWC) enacted a moratorium on all commercial whaling.
The IWC does not have the capacity to enforce the moratorium, says Sea Shepherd.
The video can be viewed here.