Everyday Should be World Oceans Day

As many of you probably already know, today is World Oceans Day and although I think it's great that we have a whole day dedicated to the oceans, I still believe that people should be appreciating and thinking about the amazing seas, that cover more than half of our planet, every day! 
 


Of course everyone is aware of the ocean that surrounds us but I often think it can be overlooked when it comes to the planet's concerns. 50% - 80% of creatures that inhabit this planet, can be found in the sea and too many of them are or are close to becoming endangered however, because we do not see or experience these creatures as often as we see land animals, they seem to be forgotten about.


These sea creatures need our help and that is why I am a volunteer for Sea Shepherd UK. Sea Shepherd is one of the only charities that takes direct action against illegal poachers of the sea. Their crews will sometimes even put their lives in danger or risk being arrested so that they can protect those that cannot protect themselves. 

The middle of the ocean is not accessible for many and that is why mass slaughters are often kept a secret.

This week, 200 Pilot Whales have been slaughtered in the Faroe Islands for no reason other than 'tradition' and this is something that happens regularly. It is very rare for the news to cover something like this and unless you are an animal rights activist, a member of an organisation like Sea Shepherd or rather active on social media, you may never be aware of these 'events'. 

Luckily, the media has been picking up on a lot more animal issues recently for example, a handful of papers have published reports on the seal slaughters in Scotland, something that has been described as 'Scotland's biggest secret'. 

Without the oceans and its inhabitants, we would not be here and I ask everyone to think about that everyday, not just today...

On that note, happy World Oceans Day!

BB

For The Oceans

We Remember Sam Simon; Animal Hero 1955 - 2015

Sam Simon was a true hero and animal activist, he devoted so much time and money to important causes and will be so missed. The world just lost a wonderful human being and he will not be forgotten. 

I am very saddened to be writing this post and it is a subject that is quite close to me especially now that I am part of the Sea Shepherd team. On 8th March 2015 we lost Sam Simon to Cancer. For those of you who do not know who Sam Simon was, he was a co-creator of The Simpsons and here is a few of the amazing things he did for the animal world:

In 2011 he hosted a comedy fundraiser in support of Sea Shepherd called 'Stand Up for the Oceans'. 

In 2012, Sam donated a ship to Sea Shepherd, the ship was named after him and it is still being used in our fleet today.

In 2014, knowing he had Cancer, Sam took the trip out to Taiji, Japan to become a Sea Shepherd Cove Guardian and documented the horrifying dolphin murders that occur in the infamous cove. 

He worked closely alongside PETA and bought a Chinchilla Fur Farm so that the animals could be freed. 

PETA also had a one of their head quarters buildings named after him.

Sam self-funded the Sam Simon Foundation which was dedicated to rescuing stray dogs.

Sam Simon & Captain Paul Watson

These are just a few of the amazing things that Sam did whilst he was alive but you can find many more online if you just search. Sam was also a vegetarian since he was 19, he then went vegan in 2005. 

This has hit me a lot harder than I would ever expect it to. Sam Simon was and will continue to be a true inspiration to me. Like most kids, I always loved The Simpsons but I never really took much notice to the creators etc. but I knew of Sam for his incredible generosity and dedication and that is what I will remember him for. 

Sleep tight Sam. x

You can read Sea Shepherd's remembrance article here: Sea Shepherd Remembers Sam Simon

 BB

For The Oceans

 

 

For the Oceans: I'm a Sea Shepherd UK volunteer!

Ever since I was teeny weeny I have been a little water baby and growing up in Cornwall resulted in me developing the strongest love for the sea. If you merge this with my extreme love for animals then becoming part of the Sea Shepherd family is obviously very well suited to me! 

A few months back I filled out an application online to become a Sea Shepherd UK volunteer and I was lucky enough to receive an invite to an induction which I attended the Sunday just gone. The induction involved one of the senior volunteers showing us some of the incredible things that the charity do and what sort of things we will be able to do once joining the team. 

During the induction I had to check myself a couple of times to make sure my mouth wasn't hanging open in awe of the amazing things that Sea Shepherd have done and are continuing to do. Sea Shepherd are a registered, global charity that is split into different countries now, making everything a little bit more manageable. 

Sea Shepherd help protect and conserve the oceans and the creatures in it by running many campaigns around the world and dedicated volunteers take to the seas on the charity's fleet to track down and confront or expose illegal fisherman & hunters. Sea Shepherd use non-violent tactics to help prevent these criminals from destroying the oceans and killing off whales, dolphins, sea birds and many other fascinating creatures. 

The work of Sea Shepherd is something that I have followed for a long time and it is something that I feel very proud to say I have now part of. 

The whole Sea Shepherd UK family have been so welcoming and I can't wait to meet some more of them and spread the word about all their hard work & how the public can help. Maybe one day I will be out on one of the ships taking direct action! 

You can read all about Sea Shepherd UK on their site & you can also give their Facebook a like:

Website: http://www.seashepherd.org.uk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SeaShepherdUK



Hopefully I will be able to document some of the work that we do on here, so keep checking back...