US$20,000

Captain Watson Offers $20,000 Reward to Help Apprehend Gulf Dolphin Killers

Captain Paul Watson, founder and President of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, is personally offering $20,000 of his own funds for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for shooting and stabbing dolphins along the northern Gulf Coast of the U.S.

In recent months, dolphins have washed ashore in the region with bullet wounds and missing jaws and fins, and federal officials report they are investigating the spate of mysterious killings. Most recently, a dolphin was found dead off the coast of Mississippi with its lower jaw missing. In areas such as Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama, dolphins have been found shot, stabbed and mutilated. Officials in the region have reported they believe that the person or group responsible is on a ‘rampage’ because they are not just killing dolphins, but also mutilating them.

Officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) yesterday announced they are asking everyone from beachgoers to fishermen to wildlife agents to be on the lookout for injured or dead dolphins, as well as any unusual interactions between the mammals and people. Attacks on dolphins, animals that are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, carry fines and jail sentences. It is not known who is killing the protected animals, but in the past fishermen and charter boat captains have been convicted of harming dolphins they thought were taking bait or fish. Given the stress the Gulf region is still under from the devastating oil spill and the damage done to fish populations, there may be displaced anger that they are taking out on the friendly and curious dolphins, which they may view as competition for fish.

“I regard the killing of a dolphin as murder, and what we appear to have on the Gulf Coast is a dolphin serial killer. I want this sadistic killer stopped, and I have set aside $20,000 of my own savings to be paid out to any person who delivers the evidence to find and convict this person or persons. Any person coming forward with evidence may remain anonymous and can communicate with NOAA, NMFS, or Gulf Coast law enforcement officials with this information,” said Captain Watson.

If you have any information on who may be responsible, please make a report to your local police department, or contact Sea Shepherd at: informus@seashepherd.org. Reports to Sea Shepherd will be kept confidential upon request. Sea Shepherd will not disclose the name of anyone who comes forward with evidence that leads to the arrest and conviction of those responsible without the express written permission of the informant.

In order to claim your reward if the suspected dolphin killer(s) is convicted, please ask the law enforcement agency involved in the case to write a letter to Sea Shepherd. The letter should state that your tip helped lead to the arrest and conviction of the Gulf dolphin killer(s). The letter should be mailed or faxed to:

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
2226 Eastlake Ave E #45
Seattle, WA 98102-3419 USA
fax: +1 360-370-5651

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 US$11,000

Sea Shepherd Offers $11,000 Reward for the Conviction of New Jersey Whale Killer

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society wants the person(s) responsible for killing a pilot whale in New Jersey to be caught and punished. To that end, Sea Shepherd is offering a reward of USD $11,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible.

The 11 foot-long short-finned pilot whale suffered for a month before dying on a New Jersey beach in Allenhurst, a small Monmouth County town just north of Asbury Park, on September 24, 2011. The necropsy performed by authorities confirmed that the whale had been shot. Although the wound had partially healed, the .30 caliber bullet festered in the whale’s jaw preventing it from eating. The cause of death was starvation.

The 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) protects whales; therefore killing a whale is a federal crime. If convicted, violators of the MMPA can be fined up to $100,000 and sent to prison for a year.

According to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, there are approximately 31,000 pilot whales, both long and short-finned, in the western North Atlantic Ocean. There are an additional 300 or so off the west coast of the United States, about 8,800 around the Hawaiian Islands, and 2,400 in the northern Gulf of Mexico.

“Sea Shepherd has had success with our reward programs in the past,” Said Sea Shepherd Founder and President Captain Paul Watson. “I am hopeful we will see the person(s) responsible for this cruel and illegal killing be brought to justice.”

If you have any information on who may be responsible, please make a report to your local police department, or contact Sea Shepherd at: informus@seashepherd.org. Reports to Sea Shepherd will be kept confidential upon request. Sea Shepherd will not disclose the name of anyone who comes forward with evidence that leads to the arrest and conviction of those responsible without the express written permission of the informant.

In order to claim your reward if the suspected whale killer(s) is convicted, please ask the law enforcement agency involved in the case to write a letter to Sea Shepherd. The letter should state that your tip helped lead to the arrest and conviction of the New Jersey whale killer(s). The letter should be mailed or faxed to:

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
2226 Eastlake Ave E #45
Seattle, WA 98102-3419 USA
fax: +1 360-370-5651

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 £1000

Sea Shepherd Offers Reward for Scottish Seal Killers

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is offering a £1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the killing of five grey seals in the Orkney Islands. Four pregnant females and a juvenile were shot in the head and their bodies left on the beach to rot.

Under the Conservation of Seals Act 1970, seals can be shot with a high-velocity rifle by a fisherman possessing an endorsement on their firearms certificate but only if the seal is about to cause damage to fishing gear.

These five seals were not presenting a threat to fishing gear. They were shot on the beach while hauled-out on the shore.

Ross Flett, director of Orkney Seal Rescue, who examined the dead seals after a member of public alerted police on Saturday, said: "I am quite sure the police have a good idea who is behind it, though to prosecute is extremely difficult."

Sea Shepherd is hoping to add some incentive to going ahead with a prosecution.

"If the police are motivated enough, perhaps they will press forward with an investigation." said Captain Paul Watson, Founder and President of Sea Shepherd. "If so we are prepared to contribute the 5,000 British pounds to a police charity of their choice if they can secure a conviction."

"We will also pay out the reward to any member of the public who comes forward with evidence that will contribute to a conviction in this case," added Captain Watson.

The bodies were found on a rocky beach at the Point of Vastray, a headland on the northeast coastline of the Orkney mainland, at a time of year when females come inshore to give birth to their pups.

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 AUD$1000

Reward Offered for Information on Australian Shark Killers

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is offering an AUD$1000 reward for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for killing, finning, and dumping four large tiger sharks in a park north of Cairns in North Queensland, Australia.

The sharks, ranging in size from three to four meters, have had their fins, jaws, and tails removed and are badly decomposed. The bodies were discovered by a local clergyman who was alerted to the location by the stench of the rotting corpses.

Sharks of this size would have been caught from a fairly large boat and there is a strong possibility that the crime was witnessed.

Boating and Fisheries Patrol District Officer Bob Koch has requested that anyone with information on the dumping or the sale of fins and jaws should report to the Fisheries Hotline.

Fishwatch hotline

To report unlawful fishing in Queensland, please call the 24 hour Fishwatch hotline on 1800 017 116 (toll free within Queensland)

For general fisheries enquiries, contact the DPI&F Call Centre on 13 25 23 (for the cost of a local call from anywhere in Queensland).

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 €1,000 (Euros)

For the first successful conviction of a fisherman using a dog or cat as shark bait and €200 for each conviction thereafter

Dogs and cats are also involved in an assault on nature, this time as victims and as bait. On the French island of La Reunion in the Indian Ocean, fishermen have been using live dogs and cats as bait for sharks.

This practice is specifically outlawed by French law but the law, as in many places throughout the world, is ignored by fishing communities who apparently believe they are above the law.

The dogs and cats have hooks passed through their snouts or through the tendons in their legs and the hooks are attached to lines and rods. The hapless animals are then tossed into the water where their struggles attract sharks.

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has sent a message to the police in La Reunion offering a reward of €1,000 (Euros) for the first successful conviction of a fisherman using a dog or cat as bait and €200 for each conviction thereafter.

The following letter was sent to the Chief of Police on La Reunion Island:

To: The Police
La Reunion Island

The international Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is offering a reward of 200 Euros to any police officer who successfully enforces the law prohibiting the use of dogs and cats as bait for the catching of sharks.

The Society is offering a reward of 1,000 Euros for the first conviction and 200 Euros for each conviction thereafter.

The reward will be paid upon the successful conviction of any person found guilty of using dogs or cats as bait in shark fishing as defined by the laws of France that specifically outlaw this practice.

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society wishes to advise all police captains that they may submit the names of officers who have arrested suspects for using dogs or cats as shark bait and that the reward will be paid directly to the officer or officers upon a successful conviction.

La Sea Shepherd Conservation Society Internationale offrira une récompense de 200 Euros à tout officier de police qui renforcera de manière efficace la loi interdisant l' utilisation de chiens en tant qu' appât pour attrapper les requins.

La Sea Shepherd Conservation Society offrira une récompense de 1000 Euros pour la première inculpation et 200 Euros pour chaque suivante.

La récompense sera versée au terme de chaque inculpation réussie de toute personne reconnue coupable d'utilisation de chiens en tant qu'appât pour pêcher des requins. Comme il est clairement specifié par les lois de la France, cette pratique est absolument interdite.

La Sea Shepherd Conservation Society tient à informer tous les capitaines de police qu'il pourra s'avérer necessaire de fournir les noms des officiers
ayant arrêté les suspects responsables de l'utilisation de chiens en tant qu'appât à requins. La récompense sera versée directement à ou aux officiers responsables de l'inculpation réussie des dits suspects.

Sincèrement,

Captain Paul Watson
President
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

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 $25,000

Sea Shepherd Posts Reward in St. Lucia
Jane Tipson Murder Case

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has posted a reward of $25,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons who murdered Jane Tipson in St. Lucia in 2003.

Captain Paul Watson has notified the St. Lucia police of the reward.

The crime scene was contaminated by police officers and little forensic evidence was found. Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is hopeful that the reward, (a substantial sum in St. Lucia), will bring forth someone with information or evidence relating to the murder.

Jane Tipson, a dedicated conservationist and animal rights activist, was murdered as she drove onto her property in St. Lucia, around 1:30 a.m., on Wednesday, September 17, 2003. She was shot in the head at close range.

The murder was clearly a contract killing. There is some question as to who was involved and why they would want Jane killed. An article about Jane's murder appeared in the London Times Sunday edition on page three, and there they eluded to the probability that the contract killing was carried out because of her work against the Dolphin Fantaseas plans to create a dolphin encounter tourist attraction in St. Lucia and other islands in the Caribbean region. This group has a very shady past, and currently has dolphin encounter operations in Anguilla and Antigua.

Jane moved to St. Lucia from her native Devonshire, England, some 30 years ago. She was co-founder of the Eastern Caribbean Coalition for Environmental Awareness, and was responsible for the ECCEA regional program in St. Lucia. She also created the Whale and Dolphin Watching Association, and was responsible for the development of a now flourishing whale-watching industry in St.Lucia. She was tireless in her leadership of many anti-captivity campaigns. She founded and dedicated her time and virtually all of her income to the St. Lucia Animal Protection Society (SLAPS) protecting and caring for hundreds of wild and domestic animals in a way few people have ever done.

As is the case with many environmental and animal activists, there was an ongoing attempt to discredit Jane and she was continuously harassed and threatened. We all, especially the animals, have lost another truly wonderful person to the greed and corruption of those who profit at the expense of the animals and the environment. Jane would want us to continue the fight for conservation and protection of the animals and we must do just that.

Jane Tipson was very helpful to Sea Shepherd Conservation Society in the summer of 2001 when the Sea Shepherd flagship Ocean Warrior was in Castries Harbor investigating illegal whaling activities in St. Lucia.

Captain Paul Watson responding to news of her murder said, "Because of the enemies Jane made in high places, and because of her efforts to help animals in St. Lucia, I fear that the investigation into her death will not be a priority. There was certainly no care to protect the integrity of the crime scene and valuable forensic evidence was lost because of the police. I remember my life being threatened when Sea Shepherd's ship was last in St. Lucia, and my experience there illustrates to me just what a courageous heroine Jane was in continuing to champion the animals and habitats in the face of very real threats of violence.

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