In the land down under, ABC Australia reports that sheep ships are big news. Apparently upset at the live sheep trade, enviroweenies are keeping a sheep ship from docking, to protest the live sheep trade. The tale seems like your typical animal activism, but what really strikes me as irregular are these two passages from the story.

Police say there are around 20 protesters gathered at the port in Portland [Australia].
[...]

Police are currently negotiating with the protesters.

Twenty people are keeping a ship from docking and engaging in lawful commerce, and the police are "negotiating". Maybe there is something I'm not understanding here, but how do 20 people keep a ship from docking and loading?

Here's my advice to the Aussies. Bring the ship into port and load up the sheep. Any protestors that put themselves into harms way, deserve what they get. If they are crushed by the ship, hit by the gang plank, or trampled by thousands of sheep, so be it. No one ever said that civil disobedience doesn't have a price tag.

UPDATE: (09/25) CNN reports that protestors have finally been removed.