Freed activist Paul Watson vows to 'end whaling worldwide'

Animal rights activist Paul Watson, freed this week from detention in Denmark, vowed on Saturday to end whale hunting worldwide and to stop Japan if it tried to resume whaling in the Southern Ocean. Under international pressure, Japan, one of three countries to conduct commercial whaling along with Iceland and Norway, abandoned these hunts.

Since 2019 it has only caught whales in its own waters. But in May, Japan launched the Kangei Maru, a whaling mother ship. He also said he would oppose attempts by Iceland to resume whaling in 2025. French President Emmanuel Macron was among those who spoke out for him and he also enjoyed massive support from the French public.