Is Japan starving? no Does Japan already have a large stock pile of unsold whale meat? yes Is there more humane sources of protein? definitely, animals bred to be docile for one.
so yes cruelty is what I write because that's what it is
now lets have a look at the definition of piracy someone who attacks AND robs a ship, does the Sea Shepherd rob ships? no therefore calling them pirates is tantamount to calling Tibetans thieves for resisting the Chinese. on top of that piracy is breaking the law yet I don't see anything from you about whaling in Australian waters
