OTTAWA—The seizure of an anti-sealing ship over the weekend by Canadian officials was a welcome move because it would give added publicity to the cause, a high-profile campaigner said on Monday.
Canadian authorities detained the Farley Mowat vessel Saturday, saying they feared it could endanger sealers' lives. Ottawa will allow hunters to shoot or club to death 275,000 young seals this year.
Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, which owns the ship, said the vessel was outside Canada 's 12-mile (19-km) territorial limit at the time and described the arrest as an act of war.
Ottawa has long had troubled relations with animal rights activists seeking to film graphic shots of what they say is a barbaric practice that should be banned.
Watson denied the idea that the Farley Mowat had endangered the sealers.
"We're armed with cameras and those cameras are very threatening to the Canadian government," he said.
Watson said before the annual seal hunt had begun, he had predicted that the best thing that could happen for the anti-sealing campaign was if officials stormed the vessel in international waters.
"I said at the time I didn't that think (Federal Fisheries Minister Loyola) Hearn would be so stupid as to do that. Well, I guess he proved me wrong," he told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.
"I think he's made our campaign. Our objective this year was to get evidence on the inhumane killing of seals," he said, accusing Ottawa of engaging in piracy.
Watson's comments were made before he posted a $10,000 bail to free the ship's captain and first officer. He said he intended to pay half the bail in two-dollar coins, which would represent pirates' booty.
Canada said last week it had charged the captain and first officer of the Farley Mowat for getting too close to the hunters and for obstructing fisheries officers.
"We have issued over 75 permits this year for people to come within 30 feet of the hunt ... the (Farley Mowat) did not have a permit and was not allowed to come within one half nautical mile of the hunt. They did," Hearn told CTV television.
"We ordered them out, they went out, came back in, they came within the 12-mile limit."
Last month, four hunters died when their vessel hit ice and capsized in the icy waters as it was being towed by a Coast Guard vessel.
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