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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...

Atlantic whale sanctuary blocked by whaling supporters

A plan to designate a vast swathe of the South Atlantic a whale sanctuary has not been approved after the proposal failed to get enough votes in favour at the current meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC). Under the IWC’s voting rules, the proposal needed a three-quarters majority to be passed and despite a majority of countries voting positively it was not enough.

The sanctuary proposal had been put forward by a number of countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Gabon, Uruguay and South Africa. However, Japan and other whaling countries such as Norway and Iceland, opposed the proposal, along by a number of smaller countries, many of whom have historically supported Japan’s position at the IWC. Find our who was in favour and against the sanctuary.

“We knew that it would probably not get the support – but it is still very disappointing,” Astrid Fuchs, head of WDC’s Stop Whaling Program, attending the meeting in Slovenia.

Find out the latest from the IWC and more about whaling.