Japan Convicts Whale Wars Activist

Nothing fishy here: Anti-whaling activist Peter Bethune, who was featured regularly on the reality show Whale Wars, was convicted Wednesday of assault and obstructing Japan’s Antarctic whaling fleet, but the Japanese court suspended his sentence, sparing him from jail time. Climbing from a Jet Ski, Bethune boarded a whaling ship and threw bottles of butyric acid at the whalers, giving three minor burns. A member of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, Bethune claimed he boarded the ship to confront the captain about the sinking of a Sea Shepherd protest ship, and presented him with a bill for damages. He was taken into custody instead, living on the ship a month before the ship returned to Japan. Japan says its whaling program—which kills 1,000 whales a year—is for scientific purposes, but activists say it’s a cover for commercial whaling, banned in 1986.