There have been numerous clashes between the whalers and Sea Shepherd vessels in the past A US court has ordered conservation group Sea Shepherd to stay at least 500 yards away from Japan's whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean. The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit banned the group from "physically attacking any vessel engaged by the plaintiffs".
![Japan whalers given Sea Shepherd injunction by US court](https://cdn-ak-scissors.b.st-hatena.com/image/square/4ce26a8e6006370b0bc437900eb51ccd92cb1acf/height=288;version=1;width=512/https%3A%2F%2Fichef.bbci.co.uk%2Fnews%2F1024%2Fmedia%2Fimages%2F57953000%2Fjpg%2F_57953395_a1yasmio.jpg)