Greens say they bugged Japan whaling ship

SYDNEY, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- Environmentalists say they planted bugs aboard a Japanese whaling ship that has allowed them to dog the entire Antarctic fleet.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society said Monday its shipload of activists was able to keep pace with the seven-ship whaling fleet for two months thanks to the electronic devices.

As a result, Sea Shepherd claims, the whalers left the region with less than half of the 1,000 whales they had intended to harpoon, according to the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph.

Environmentalists have harassed whalers in the Southern Ocean in the past; however, the whaling ships often slip away under cover of darkness or bad weather.

The Telegraph said the bugs were supposedly hidden last month when Sea Shepherd crewmen boarded the Yushin Maru No. 2, which sparked a three-day standoff with Australian customs agents.