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Vaquita. Photo Thomas Jefferson

Scientific Committee gives first ever official species extinction warning

Photo: Thomas Jefferson We have welcomed the urgent call by experts to protect the vaquita...
blue whale

Whale fossil from Peru may have been heavier than blue whale

Scientists examining the bones of a 39 million-year-old ancient whale have concluded that it may...
Humpback whale © Christopher Swann

Humpback whales breach in synchronisation

Humpback whales are renowned for their incredible acrobatic displays, but a family in the USA...
Long-finned pilot whale

Unusual activity witnessed before pilot whale stranding

Just days after a pod of long-finned pilot whales stranded on an island in the...

Orcas regularly drugged at SeaWorld parks say former trainers

Several former SeaWorld Trainers have revealed that drugs were frequently given to orcas held in at least three of the marine park facilities in order to calm them down and to help them survive life in their small tanks.

The trainers, including John Hargrove, who worked at SeaWorld San Diego, said that the orcas were drugged on a regular basis to relieve stress, and that some of the drugs were so powerful they posed a threat to the people administering them.

Hargrove, together with other former trainers Samantha Berg, John Jett, Carol Ray and Jeffrey Ventre say that medications such as antipsychotics and benzodiazepines (Diazepam) were used to ‘manage’ the orcas on a daily basis.