Skip to content
All articles
  • All articles
  • About whales & dolphins
  • Create healthy seas
  • End captivity
  • Green Whale
  • Prevent deaths in nets
  • Scottish Dolphin Centre
  • Stop whaling
Dolphins captured for captivity in Taiji. Image: Hans Peter Roth

Loved and killed – whales and dolphins in Japan

Protests and criticism from outside Japan in response to the slaughter of whales and dolphins...
Irrawaddy dolphin

Helping fishers protect dolphins in Sarawak, Borneo

Fishing nets are bad news for dolphins and porpoises, so we're working with local fishers...
Dolphin watching from Chanonry Point, Scotland. Image: WDC/Charlie Phillips

Discovering inner peace – whale and dolphin watching and mental wellbeing

Guest blog If you've ever seen whales or dolphins in the wild, you'll know that...
Whale tail

An ocean of hope

In a monumental, jaw-dropping demonstration of global community, the nations of the world made history...
The infamous killing cove at Taiji, Japan

Why the Taiji dolphin hunt can never be justified

Supporters of the dolphin slaughter in Japan argue that killing a few hundred dolphins every...
Image: Peter Linforth

Tracking whales from space will help us save them

Satellite technology holds one of the keys to 21st century whale conservation, so we're exploring...
Fishers' involvement is crucial. Image: WDC/JTF

When porpoises and people overlap

We're funding a project in Hong Kong that's working with fishing communities to help save...

Mindful conservation – why we need a new respect for nature

'We should look at whales and dolphins as the indigenous people of the seas -...

WDC launches major new captivity campaign

Today, WDC launches a major anti-captivity campaign aimed at the travel industry and their continued support for marine parks holding whales and dolphins in captivity. WDC calls on Richard Branson, as a founder of the Virgin brand and a member of the Ocean Elders group, to use his influence and stop Virgin Holidays promoting trips to SeaWorld parks. Other major UK travel companies promoting these trips include Cosmos, Thomas Cook, First Choice and Thomson.

Richard branson as PoseidonAs a passionate marine conservationist, Richard Branson, recently condemned the Taiji drive hunts in Japan where wild whales and dolphins are hunted each year or captured alive for captivity. Virgin Holidays promotes SeaWorld Parks which currently hold five  orcas in their tanks – whales who started their lives wild and free in the ocean.

There is no educational benefit in seeing orcas performing in circus style shows which have no value in informing the public about wild orcas and their habitats. Very little of SeaWorld’s annual revenue goes towards conservation.

Please join us in sending a strong message to Richard Branson and Virgin Holidays to end these promotions. Please sign our petition and share our campaign video – the more people who sign, the more chance we have of stopping the cruelty.