The Steve Irwin Visits Italy The Steve Irwin arrived today in La Spezia, Italy for a brief visit and a fund-raising event.  The crew were greeted with a huge welcoming banner. This marks the first time that a Sea Shepherd ship has docked in Italy.

Whale Wars Nominated for Two Emmy Awards! Nominations for the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards were recently announced, and Animals Planet’s series Whale Wars received 2 nominations!  Whale Wars , one of Animal Planet’s top rated series, follows the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society as they wage a life-and-death battle to find and stop the illegal hunting of whales in the name of ‘research.’ Specifically, the episode Whale Wars–The Stuff of Nightmares, in which a whale is harpooned and is shown taking 23 agonizing minutes to drown, is competing against LIFE and The National Parks for the titles of Outstanding Cinematography For Nonfiction Programming and Outstanding Picture Editing For Nonfiction Programming. The Emmy Awards will be broadcast live on Sunday August 29 at 8 p.m.

Sea Shepherd Does Not Condone the Use of Firearms Reports that Sea Shepherd supports shooting Japanese whale poachers are inaccurate. “The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has never used firearms and has no intention of using firearms against illegal whalers,” said Captain Paul Watson, Sea Shepherd president and founder. “We are proud of our record of never causing an injury to any person in our entire history

Japanese Factory Ship Stopped Dead in the Water The Nisshin Maru re-entered the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary this morning. The Steve Irwin warned them in Japanese that they were illegally entering a whale Sanctuary

Update: Bob Barker Shuts Down Illegal Whaling The Sea Shepherd ship Bob Barker has shut down illegal whaling operations in Antarctica.