By Kirstin
I was one of the tourists on the whale watching tour the day the orca was harpooned. I have just read your article about the whaler challenging the account of the passengers of the whale watching excursion and I cannot agree with what was written.
I can say that our group was searching for whale for over an hour before seeing the orca pod and that we were watching them for a long time before the hunting boat arrived. We did not come and meet them chasing things — they came to us.
I can say that we never saw more than 4 orca and do not believe that the pod was as large as 20. I can say that we did not know for sure that they were going to harpoon an animal because our tour guides told us they were allowed to hunt pilot whale and we were not watching pilot whales.
I can say that it is absurd to tell us that we did not witness the death of the animal when there is no other outcome after it has been harpooned in front of our eyes. I can say that when my 6-year-old son wrote of the event he included “he shot it!!!” and that is not something that my son or I can recover from.
The discretion the whaler speaks of should include not harpooning an animal in front of a group of people and children there to witness the beauty of the animal. He showed no discretion. He murdered two animals. He irreparably damaged those who witnessed it — me, and most importantly my son “in order to buy back our gas”. It sickens me.
The views expressed herein are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the opinions or editorial position of iWitness News. Opinion pieces can be submitted to [email protected]
The opinions presented in this content belong to the author and may not necessarily reflect the perspectives or editorial stance of iWitness News. Opinion pieces can be submitted to [email protected].