ANIMAL PLANET CHRONICLES THE NEXT CHAPTER IN THE "WHALE WARS" SAGA, FOLLOWING THE SEA SHEPHERDS' FIGHT IN THE FAROE ISLANDS AGAINST ANNUAL PILOT WHALE HUNT

Danish Protectorate of the Faroe Islands and Annual Slaughter of Cetaceans Known as "The Grind" is Subject of Next Sea Shepherd Campaign and Basis of Television Project

Animal Planet today announced a new television project that will be a companion and "spin-off" series to the much-talked about WHALE WARS, this time following the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's campaign to stop the annual pilot whale kill known as "The Grind" in the Danish Protectorate of the Faroe Islands. The project, tentatively titled THE FAROE ISLANDS PROJECT, began filming July 15 and will continue through the end of the Sea Shepherd's "Operation Ferocious Isles" campaign. No airdate or episode number has been determined as of yet.

THE FAROE ISLANDS PROJECT will follow the Sea Shepherds and their larger operatives team and new technology as they try to stop the hunting of an estimated 1,000 long-finned pilot whales that are corralled by many men and boys living in the Faroes into shallow coves to be killed. Whaling in the Faroe Islands has been practiced since about the time of the first Norse settlements on the islands. It is regulated by Faroese authorities on a community level.

"Operation Ferocious Isles" is the first time in 10 years the direct-action environmental brigade has actively intervened in the Danish territory. Many members of the crew will be familiar to WHALE WARS fans, including Captain Paul Watson, Captain Locky MacLean, Peter Hammarstedt, Chris Aultman and Fiona McCuaig, and the land-sea-air campaign will also feature the vessels Steve Irwin and Brigitte Bardot (the trimaran formerly called the Gojira). Already, the Sea Shepherds have run into an unforeseen hurdle: the Steve Irwin has been detained as the vessel has been seized by a British court en route in the nearby Shetland Islands over a conflict with Maltese Bluefin tuna fisherman while the crew from the Brigitte Bardot continues their operations in the Faeroe Islands.

"For the last four years, WHALE WARS has been riveting television because of the passion of the Sea Shepherds, the risks they take to save the lives of whales, and the magnificent and dangerous beauty of the Southern Ocean," noted Marjorie Kaplan, president and general manager of Animal Planet Media. "Now they are once again preparing to put their lives on the line, this time in a lush and unfamiliar corner of northern Europe where the customs are different and the killing of whales continues. And we plan be there to document every moment."

THE FAROE ISLANDS PROJECT is produced by The Lizard Trading Company for Animal Planet. Liz Bronstein is the executive producer at The Lizard Trading Company, and Lisa Lucas is the executive producer with Animal Planet. Marc Etkind is the vice president of development for Animal Planet.