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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...
All policy news
  • All policy news
  • Create healthy seas
  • End captivity
  • Prevent deaths in nets
  • Stop whaling
  • Strandings
Port River dolphins

New report reveals 100,000 dolphins and small whales hunted every year

When you hear the words ‘dolphin hunts’ it’s likely that you think of Japan or...

Minke whale hunts stop in Iceland

Iceland’s commercial hunt of minke whales has ended for this year. The common minke whale is the...

Icelandic whalers breach international law and kill iconic, protected whale by mistake

Icelandic whalers out hunting fin whales for the first time in three years appear to...

Doubts remain after Icelandic Marine Institute claims slaughtered whale was a hybrid not a blue

Experts remain sceptical of initial test results issued by the Icelandic Marine Institute, which indicate...

Japan set to resume commercial whaling

Reports from Japan suggest that the government they will formally propose plans to resume commercial...

End the whale hunts! Icelandic fin whaler isolated as public mood shifts

Here’s a sight I hoped never again to witness. A boat being scrubbed and repainted...

Australian Government to block Japanese whaling proposal

Japanese Government officials have reportedly confirmed that they will propose the resumption of commercial whaling...

Pregnant whales once again a target for Japanese whalers

Figures from Japan's whaling expedition to Antarctica during the 2017/18 austral summer have revealed that...

Did Icelandic whalers really kill a blue whale?

*Warning - this blog contains an image that you may find upsetting* They say a...

SOS alert for whales off Norway!

I have to admit to bitter disappointment when I arrived in Tromsø, northern Norway, a...

Norway's whaling season begins

April 1st saw the start of the whaling season in Norway. Despite a widely-accepted international moratorium...

Norway increases whaling quota despite declining demand

Norway's government has announced an increase in the number of minke whales that can be...

An end to captivity in Canada?

After being stalled in the Canadian Senate since November 2017, a bill that would ban whale and dolphin captivity in Canada is finally moving forward.  If S-203 passes the Senate, it will be voted on by Parliament and be one step closer to becoming law.

The bill would criminalize holding whales and dolphins captive in Canada, but grandfathers in those already held.  Research and rescue are allowed under the bill, and a clause recognizing First Nations treaty rights was added.  Banning captivity in Canada has wide public support, with opposition to the industry increasing in recent years.

Public outcry against captivity led to Vancouver Aquarium’s recent announcement that they would no longer hold whales and dolphins captive, and now their CEO, John Nightingale, has announced he will retire at the end of 2018.  Nightingale oversaw the Aquarium for 25 years, through growing public oppostion to captivity and a sad series of deaths in the last few years.

The Aquarium’s announcement earlier this year followed a vote by the Vancouver Park Board to prevent any new whales and dolphins from being brought into captivity, citing ethical concerns.  The Vancouver Aquarium followed in the footsteps of other establishments in the captivity industry that enacted changes following the release of the documentary Blackfish and the resulting flood of opposition, including the National Aquarium in Baltimore and SeaWorld.

The Aquarium has just one dolphin remaining at the facility, and a reported four belugas on loan to other institutions.  These individuals are potential candidates to be moved to a more natural sanctuary environment, such as the sanctuary WDC is developing with Merlin Entertainments.