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We're at COP28 to Save the Whale, Save the World.

We’re at COP28 to save the whale, save the world

Ed Goodall Ed is WDC's head of intergovernmental engagement. He meets with world leaders to...
Gray whales from drone.

We’re taking steps to uncover the mysteries of whales

Vicki James Vicki is WDC's protected areas coordinator, she helps to create safe ocean spaces...
We must protect our non-human allies. Image: Tom Brakefield, aurore murguet, johan63

We’re urging governments to protect all of our climate heroes – CITES

Katie Hunter Katie supports WDC's engagement in intergovernmental conversations and is working to end captivity...
The Natütama Foundation are dedicated to protecting endangered river dolphins. Image: Natutama

Guardians of the Amazon: protecting the endangered river dolphins

Ali Wood Ali is WDC's education projects coordinator. She is the editor of Splash! and KIDZONE,...
Amazon river dolphins. Image: Fernando Trujillo/Fundacion Omacha

Amazon tragedy as endangered river dolphins die in hot water

Ali Wood Ali is WDC's education projects coordinator. She is the editor of Splash! and KIDZONE,...
Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin © Mike Bossley/WDC

WDC in Japan – Part 3: Restoring freedom to dolphins in South Korea

Katrin Matthes Katrin is WDC's communications and campaigns officer for policy & communication in Germany...
Wintery scene in Iceland

Seeking sanctuary – Iceland’s complex relationship with whales

Hayley Flanagan Hayley is WDC's engagement officer, specialising in creating brilliant content for our website...
Whaling ship Hvalur 8 arrives at the whaling station with two fin whales

A summer of hope and heartbreak for whales in Icelandic waters

Luke McMillan Luke is WDC's Head of hunting and captivity. Now that the 2023 whaling season...
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Dominica announces new protections for sperm whales

Dominica has placed almost 800 square kilometers of sea off the west coast of the...
Commerson's dolphin

New Important Marine Mammal Areas added to global ocean conservation list

Commerson's dolphin Experts from a number of countries have mapped out a new set of...
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...
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Minke whale hunts stop in Iceland

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

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...

Norway's whaling season begins

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

SOS alert for whales off Norway!

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

Icelandic fin whale hunting to resume

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

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.