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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...

China’s backwards step ignores growing public feeling against breeding orcas in captivity

Just as public opinion turns against keeping orcas in captivity, China has decided to launch a new orca-breeding facility.

Nine orcas have been revealed to the public, five male and four female, at the country’s new breeding base at Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in Guangdong Province.

The move seems particularly strange coming as it does when organizations around the world are looking to end such breeding programmes like this and the public turns its back on cruel captivity shows.

 

SeaWorld, the giant US aquarium and marine life park, has now ended orca breeding. The governor of California signed legislation last week banning orca breeding and orca performances in the state from June, and legislation introduced to the US Congress this month could end orca captivity in the US. A number of US states have already banned the practice, as have some countries. 

Orcas in captivity have been shown to have much shorter life-spans and to display abnormal behaviour not seen in the wild. There are around 500 marine mammals in captivity in China, according to government records.

More on orcas held in Chinese marine parks.