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Gray whale

UN adopts High Seas Treaty to protect the ocean

At the UN 'High Seas Treaty' negotiations in New York, a historic vote for the...

Hopes raised for whale and dolphin protection after last minute landmark nature agreement

WDC's Ed Goodall (far right) at COP15 with Thérèse Coffey (centre) UK Secretary of State...

WDC orca champion picks up award

Beatrice Whishart MSP picks up her Nature Champion award The Scottish Environment LINK, an organisation...

Large number of dolphins moved to Abu Dhabi marine park

Up to 24 captive bottlenose dolphins have reportedly been sent to a new SeaWorld theme...

Japanese begin whale hunt in north-western Pacific

A fleet of four Japanese whaling ships have begun their annual hunt for whales in waters off the country’s northern island of Hokkaido.

The vessels will operate until October during which time they may kill up to 51 minke whales. This slaughter is carried out under the guise of ‘scientific research’, and the vessels leave port just days after a call by the global nature conservation organisation, IUCN, for Japan to end these hunts.

Both the Scientific Committee at the International Whaling Commission (IWC – the body that regulates whale hunting) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) have also stated that Japan’s scientific whale hunts in the Antarctic should cease because they offer little scientific value. Most of the meat is sold on the open market, confirming that these hunts are effectively an excuse to get around the current international ban on commercial whaling.

You can read WDC’s Chris Butler-Stroud’s recent paper on ‘What Drives Japanse Whaling Policy?‘ on the ‘Frontiers in Marine Science’ website.