Sparty Winner for Entertainment Coverage: Lia Grabowski
Taking lives in war and risking your life to save an animal’s. These are on opposite ends of the spectrum, yet Sea Shepherd Matt Smith switched from one to the other in a blink.
“I guess it was an epiphany that killing is wrong,” Smith said. “Whatever the reason is—I’m sure there’s a reason out there—it’s wrong. I got out of the military, and became a vegetarian, and I guess it was two or three years later that I became a vegan. I guess I just woke up and decided I’m never going to kill anything for any reason, because we have to harmonize with this planet.”
One reason that animals deserve to be protected, according to Smith, is because they harmonize with their surroundings. He describes humans as the only species who constantly take from the planet and kill all other species. He adamantly believes that all life on this planet is worth dying for.
“Sometimes enough is enough. If one person stands up for one animal and I can save one cow, or one dolphin, or one whale, or if I can jump out in front of a harpoon vessel and that harpoon explodes in me and saves that whale, that whale is more important than I am. There are fewer of them and there are how many billions of human beings on the planet? And they’re not killing the planet, we are.”
To find out more about Whale Wars and the Sea Shepherds, visit the Whales Wars page on Animal Planet.
Leave a Reply