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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...

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.