Naturefund half bei der Befreiung der 'Steve Irwin'
Naturefund erklärte sich dazu bereit, alle Spenden, die über seine Charity-SMS 81190 mit dem Kennwort: Natur, eingingen, an Sea Shepherd weiter zu leiten. Damit hatte Sea Shepherd eine schnelle und flexible Möglichkeit, in Deutschland zusätzliche Spendengelder zu akquirieren. Das Schiff konnte nun gegen eine Kaution freigekauft werden. Da für Naturefund die Befreiung der 'Steve Irwin' auch ein großer Erfolg für den Meeres- und Naturschutz darstellt, werden hier Teile der offiziellen Danksagung von Sea Shepherd veröffentlicht: Sea Shepherd supporters rock!Due to the generosity of our supporters around the world, we have raised over USD$735,000 to save our flagship Steve Irwin - less than two weeks after the launch of our SOS! - Save Our Ship fundraising campaign! Thank you to everyone who helped make it possible for us to fund a bond to release the ve ssel from detainment! Together, we will continue to make a difference.
As many of you are aware, on July 15, our flagship vessel the Steve Irwin was detained in the Scottish Shetland Islands pending our ability to fund a bond we estimated to be in the amount of USD$1,411,692.87. The detainment was ordered by British courts due to a civil lawsuit brought against us by Maltese fishing company Fish and Fish Ltd.
The British court set the bond today at £520,000 (approximately USD$846,290). Thankfully, we were able to post the bond earlier today, and the Steve Irwin will soon depart to the Faeroes for Operation Ferocious Isles. The Steve Irwin will join the vessel Brigitte Bardot and her crew, who are already onsite defending pilot whales.
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We are in a war to save our oceans from ourselves, and if we lose, we all lose because if the oceans die, we all die – it’s as simple as that. Thank-you!
For Our Oceans and for the Steve Irwin,
Captain Paul Watson
Founder and President