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Dolphins captured for captivity in Taiji. Image: Hans Peter Roth

Loved and killed – whales and dolphins in Japan

Protests and criticism from outside Japan in response to the slaughter of whales and dolphins...
Irrawaddy dolphin

Helping fishers protect dolphins in Sarawak, Borneo

Fishing nets are bad news for dolphins and porpoises, so we're working with local fishers...
Dolphin watching from Chanonry Point, Scotland. Image: WDC/Charlie Phillips

Discovering inner peace – whale and dolphin watching and mental wellbeing

Guest blog If you've ever seen whales or dolphins in the wild, you'll know that...
Whale tail

An ocean of hope

In a monumental, jaw-dropping demonstration of global community, the nations of the world made history...
The infamous killing cove at Taiji, Japan

Why the Taiji dolphin hunt can never be justified

Supporters of the dolphin slaughter in Japan argue that killing a few hundred dolphins every...
Image: Peter Linforth

Tracking whales from space will help us save them

Satellite technology holds one of the keys to 21st century whale conservation, so we're exploring...
Fishers' involvement is crucial. Image: WDC/JTF

When porpoises and people overlap

We're funding a project in Hong Kong that's working with fishing communities to help save...

Mindful conservation – why we need a new respect for nature

'We should look at whales and dolphins as the indigenous people of the seas -...
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A Baby Humpback Whale Plays Near the Surface in Blue Water

New report by Deloitte and WDC does a deep dive into the opportunities for businesses in embracing oceanic biodiversity

Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) and Deloitte have released a new report that shines a...

Dead whale beauty products to be sold in Japanese vending machine stores

https://au.whales.org/2023/05/12/dead-whale-beauty-products-to-be-sold-in-japanese-vending-machine-stores/

Arrests made following illegal whale meat smuggling from Japan to South Korea

Customs authorities in Busan, South Korea, have arrested six people for allegedly smuggling at least...

New report on Icelandic hunts reveals whale can take two hours to die

Fin whale with unexploded grenade harpoon embedded in his or her side. © Hard To...
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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...

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...

Did Icelandic whalers really kill a blue whale?

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

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...

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...

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...

Icelandic fin whale hunting to resume

Iceland’s only fin whaling company, Hvalur hf,  announced today that it will resume fin whaling...

Norway increases whaling quota despite declining demand

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

Norway's whaling season begins

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

Will Carnival follow Thomas Cook and drop cruel dolphin ‘attractions’?

You may remember that at the end of June, WDC was invited to Miami to present to senior executives at the Carnival Corporation, the world’s largest cruise company. We used the opportunity to highlight the serious welfare concerns we have for the dolphins that are made to perform for cruise ship passengers in various ‘swim-with’ programmes throughout the Caribbean and Mexico.

We had a positive reception from Carnival as we got your message across that whales and dolphins are just totally unsuitable for life in a tank. We presented the research that proves just how cruel these often overcrowded, shallow facilities can be for these most social and sentient creatures.

The timing of our meeting couldn’t have been better as the previous day I’d been in London for the launch of the world’s first whale sanctuary – the natural sea pen home that the SEALIFE Trust is creating, in partnership with WDC, for two captive beluga whales. With the launch of our sanctuary, the solution that has been talked about for so long is finally becoming a reality. Sanctuaries are much-needed places where ex-captive whales and dolphins can be retired to open water ocean pens. Some individuals may even be suitable for release. We discussed our plans and our vision and invited Carnival to get involved with supporting these initiatives.

Carnival is a huge player in the cruise ship industry and operates ten different brands, including household names such as P&O Cruises and Cunard.  When we knew we had a seat at ‘the top table’, we weren’t going to miss our opportunity to drive your message home. But we are realistic enough to know that change won’t come overnight, and so our approach is one of evolution rather than revolution. Carnival’s influence is huge in the industry and where they go in terms of policy and responsible tourism surely others will follow?

Carnival has agreed to expedite the audit of all the marine parks and swim-with-the-dolphins ‘attractions’ it works with and this is very much at ‘first steps’ stage. Some of the things we urged Carnival to consider when it reviews the audit results include a pledge not to take on any new suppliers, a commitment not to work with any facility that continues to source dolphins from the wild and also for Carnival to make a public statement in support of sanctuaries for the retirement and/or release of ex-captive dolphins.

Some of these important milestones are in line with what you’ve already helped us achieve when we’ve influenced the policy decisions of other tour operators such as Thomas Cook and Virgin Holidays.

We’ll follow up with Carnival on the meeting later this summer and Carnival’s audits should be complete by the end of 2018. We will keep you up-to-date with any and all developments as we encourage Carnival to do the right thing and implement meaningful welfare policy to significantly improve the lives of the dolphins held in the facilities it promotes, with a view to eventually phasing out its support of captive dolphin ‘attractions’ altogether.