Steve Irwin, Illegal Whaling Ship Hunter?

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.


irwin_whale300.jpg

The environmental buccaneers at Sea Shepherd just named a ship after “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin. No doubt the good ship Irwin will bring renewed attention to skipper Paul Watson’s high-seas exploits chasing whalers and other enemies of the ocean. But does this strike anyone else as weird? Whatever his credentials as a committed environmentalist might have been, Irwin’s claim to fame was his skill at sneaking up on and molesting unsuspecting creatures. Sea Shepard’s claim to fame is its skill at sneaking up on people who molest (or worse) unsuspecting creatures. OK, there’s a big difference between manhandling a croc and harpooning a humpback, but still, doesn’t the “look but don’t touch” rule get to the heart of what protecting animals is all about?

(Image: Worth1000)

DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And we need your support like never before, to fight back against the existential threats American democracy faces. Fundraising for nonprofit media is always a challenge, and we need all hands on deck right now. We have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And we need your support like never before, to fight back against the existential threats American democracy faces. Fundraising for nonprofit media is always a challenge, and we need all hands on deck right now. We have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate