Whalers and activists face off in new TV show

Animal Planet is known for the warm and fuzzy, but it's also no stranger to great animal drama. Who could forget the passions (and occasional deaths) on "Meerkat Manor"? But now the television network is wading into controversial waters with "Whale Wars." The protagonists: Japanese whalers and animal activists.

     To make the series, Animal Planet worked with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, activists who are considered either heroic defenders of wildlife or dangerous meddlers, depending on your politics.
    On this trip, the group tossed rancid butter on Japanese ships to make the decks slippery and to spoil whale meat, and diplomatic intervention was needed after two society members climbed aboard a Japanese ship.

The Associated Press tells the tale.