Ship to Bear Name of Legendary Animal Rights Leader
May 30, 2024 LOS ANGELES, CA; Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, the ocean-based conservation organization that mobilizes ships and crews in defense of marine wildlife, today announced their newest ship, the M/V Bob Barker.
The ship’s name reflects a bequest left by the entertainment and animal rights icon Bob Barker, who hosted the Price is Right for decades and supported numerous causes to protect the natural world. Mr. Barker started supporting Sea Shepherd in 2009, with the first Bob Barker ship leading multiple campaigns to stop poachers and bring illegal fishing operations to justice.
Bob Barker’s brother Kent Valandra reflected on the 15 year relationship between Mr. Barker and Sea Shepherd and the new ship announcement recently, saying:
“Bob felt that Sea Shepherd’s brave response to animal rights offenders was especially valuable and courageous and he wanted to be a part of their efforts.”
The new M/V Bob Barker is a 150 feet long and 36 feet wide off-shore support vessel, and it joins the Sea Shepherd fleet after years in the petroleum industry. Now re-fitted with cutting edge sonar, radar, and data collection capacities, it will lead direct action campaigns in defense of marine wildlife throughout the Western Hemisphere.
“For decades, Bob Barker inspired millions of people to protect the natural world, and the new 150 foot ship Bob Barker is proud to extend his leadership on animal rights issues far into the future,” remarked Sea Shepherd CEO Pritam Singh. “It’s important to remember how far we have come in the animal rights movement, and much of that progress comes directly from Bob Barker. He knew he had a unique platform, and he used it to build people’s awareness about their own obligations to animals and their well-being.”
See clips of the new ship and hear Bob Barker’s words about animal rights and his activism HERE
Sea Shepherd puts ships, captains and crews between poachers and the endangered marine wildlife they pursue for illegal profit. See a summary of our work in 2023 HERE.
Our campaigns are defending species like the Vaquita porpoise, the world’s most endangered marine mammal in the Upper Gulf of California, pilot whales and bottlenose dolphins in the Faroe Islands north of Scotland, fighting back against industrial trawlers pillaging the krill supply in Antarctica, and pulling deadly ghost nets from the ocean so their killing days end.
Sea Shepherd fighting for the most endangered marine mammal on earth HERE, pulling deadly nets from Upper Gulf HERE, disentangling Sea Lions HERE, defending Krill in Antarctica HERE.
About Sea Shepherd: Established in 1977, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is an international non-profit, marine wildlife conservation organization. Our mission is to end the destruction of habitat, conserve ecosystems and protect species. www.seashepherd.org.
