IT lost a boat worth $2 million, but hundreds of thousands of dollars have poured into the coffers of controversial protest group Sea Shepherd since their ship Ady Gil was allegedly rammed and sunk by a Japanese whaler.
The group's leader Captain Paul Watson today said $170,000 was pledged in the first few hours after the incident while more was flooding in following the screening of a Sea Shepherd advert featuring Transformers actress Isabel Lucas.
And Mr Watson praised Australian Acting Prime Minister Julia Gillard - who has been accused by Japan of inflaming public opinion and making diplomatic resolution of the whaling dispute harder to realise - for speaking out.
"Julia Gillard is the only politician who has had the courage to say something about the illegal activities Japan has undertaken; the rest of them are hiding behind Japan's kimonos as far as I can see," Mr Watson said.
He was especially scathing of New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully, who has said it was not the NZ Government's responsibility to send armed vessels to protect people "determined to break the law".
“The Minister of Foreign Affairs has made ignorant and unsubstantiated accusations and he should apologise and if he refuses to apologise he should be asked to resign," Mr Watson said.
"How dare he take Japan’s side in this issue against his own citizens?
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