A WARRINGTON man who volunteers for conservation charity Sea Shepherd was detained and then refused entry to Japan where he had planned to peacefully demonstrate against the slaughter of dolphins.
Builder Tony Land, from Lymm, was questioned for more than two hours before being ordered to return home.
Sea Shepherd believe the refusal to allow Mr Land entry to Japan is an attempt to hide the brutal slaughter of dolphins at Taiji, where there is an annual “dolphin drive.”
Mr Land is a veteran crew member with Sea Shepherd and has taken part in numerous campaigns, including one previous visit to Taiji.
It is not the first time a Sea Shepherd volunteer has been denied entry to Japan.
No reason has ever been given, although Japan has claimed that volunteers arriving with tourist visas are not tourists.
Sea Shepherd campaign co-ordinator David Hance said: “We believe that these refusals are desperate attempts by Japan to hide the bloodshed that turns the waters of Taiji’s now infamous cove red with the blood of dolphins and pilot whales, and evidence that Japan knows Sea Shepherd has been effective in exposing these atrocities to the world.
“Anthony Land, like all of our Cove Guardian crew, traveled to Japan to peacefully document and expose the brutal drive hunt in Taiji within the boundaries of Japanese law.
“Though carried out by a handful of hunters, this massacre of ocean wildlife brings shame to the entire nation of Japan. As Sea Shepherd founder, Captain Paul Watson, has said, our volunteers are ‘armed’ with the world’s most powerful weapon – the camera.
“I find it very interesting that none of the Sea Shepherd members have broken the law or acted inappropriately while on the ground, and yet they continue to deny our access. It really makes me wonder what they have to hide, if what they are doing is OK.”
Picture: Tony Land at a previous demonstration in London.
