“I used to swim with these beavers in a beaver pond when I was 10. I went back when I was 11 and found there were no more beavers. I found that trappers had taken them all, so I became quite angry, and that winter I began to walk the trap lines and free animals from the traps and destroy the traps.”

Canadian-American environmental, conservation and animal rights activist

Paul Franklin Watson is a Canadian-American environmental, conservation and animal rights activist. He is best known for founding the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and the Captain Paul Watson Foundation, both of which focus on marine conservation activism. His work centers on anti-poaching and direct action at sea. The tactics used by Sea Shepherd have drawn criticism, and both the Japanese government and Greenpeace have accused the group of eco-terrorism.