14 Sea Shepherd Volunteers were taken prisoner illegally by the Danish Navy on 8-30-2014 and are being held against their will for the "crime" of protecting pilot whales from slaughter, not only are the actions against the volunteers immoral, it is illegal under the 1986 International Ban on Whaling.

We are demanding the immediate dismissal of ALL charges against Sea Shepherd personnel as well as ALL Sea Shepherd physical and intellectual property to include the swift boats, cameras and video recording equipment, all photos and videos that are now in the hands of the Danish Navy and local Faroese Government.

Furthermore ALL personnel, video images, photographs, personal and miscellaneous Sea Shepherd equipment MUST be returned unharmed, unaltered or undamaged in any form or fashion, finally we demand that under the International Ban on Whaling that your Government cease and desist from further killing immediately!

The Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats classifies the long-finned pilot whale as “strictly protected” under Appendix II. While the Faeroe Islands are not a member of the European Union, they remain a Danish Protectorate. In other words, even though the Faeroes are self-governing, Denmark controls the police, defense, foreign policy, and the currency. All trade with EU countries is handled through the Danish foreign ministry. The primary reason for the Faeroes abstaining from joining the EU was in an effort to prevent the EU from meddling in their fishing policies. The slaughter of cetaceans is illegal within the European Union. 

Denmark fails to abide by their obligations as a co-signer of the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (also known as the Bern Convention). We understand that it is your tradition to hunt pilot whales and that this has been practiced for centuries. The world, however, is appalled by the scenes of grisly whale killings in the Faroe Islands. 

The pilot whale slaughter also needs to end for humane reasons, and the fact that the whale meat poses a serious health risk to humans. In 2008, the Faroese Chief Medical Officers announced that the high levels of mercury, PCBs and DDT derivatives in pilot whale meat and blubber make it unsafe for human consumption. The people of the Faroe Islands are consuming high levels of mercury in whale meat. The high level of contaminants is particularly damaging to pregnant women and children. 

Killing whales and dolphins is akin to murder. It is a highly unethical crime against nature and humanity. The ocean is the life support system for all of humanity and therefore protecting bio-diversity in our Ocean is a part of our collective home. It is everyone’s responsibility to save our oceans.

The plundering of the oceans is our common issue, we all have the right to say STOP!