On October 7, 2003, the day after the Sea Shepherd crew in Taiji was first assaulted, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society received an e-mail from Taiji, Japan.

It was from a supporter, George McInerney, who lived in Taiji and wanted to help. We took George up on his offer and he has proven be an invaluable asset to the Sea Shepherd volunteers in Taiji. He provided us with the information on the dolphin killers including personal details about the ringleaders. He pointed out the best places to film the slaughter and he invited the crew into his home for e-mail and Internet access on his own computer.

At the same time he was able to communicate with the fishermen and mislead them into thinking he was on their side to pass false information about our crew to them and to gain additional information from them.

At first George wanted to be covert about his involvement with the Sea Shepherd crew and to stay in the background. The horror of the slaughter however has convinced him that he must publicly speak out and take a stand against the cruel killings of the dolphins and whales.

As a teacher who has lived in Taiji for a few years, this is a display of great courage and he should be applauded.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is happy to have a strong ally in Taiji like George McInerney.