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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...
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...

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...

More Success! WDC’s negotiations with travel giant TripAdvisor pay off

An orca is fed in captivity

Online travel giant, TripAdvisor is to stop the promotion of whale and dolphin captivity shows, a move that follows many months of positive dialogue between the company and WDC.

The news is the latest success for WDC’s tour operators campaign, which has targeted big travel industry names and challenged them to stop promoting this kind of cruelty.

Both British Airways and Virgin Holidays have recently announced that they will no longer be selling SeaWorld trips to customers – something we had repeatedly asked them to stop doing.

‘WDC has been talking to TripAdvisor for some time as part of our campaign to stop the tourist industry promoting whale and dolphin captivity shows’, says WDC End Captivity campaigner Cathy Williamson. ‘We have had great success with Virgin Holidays and British Airways stopping such promotions and so we are delighted with this bold and progressive welfare initiative from TripAdvisor. It sends out a clear message to the captive whale and dolphin industry that TripAdvisor will no longer work with any facility that doesn’t commit to phasing out this cruel and outdated practice.’

UK director of corporate communications at TripAdvisor, James Kay, said; ‘The advice and guidance we received from the team at Whale and Dolphin Conservation was invaluable as we sought to make an informed decision about whether we could continue to support attractions that keep captive cetaceans [whales and dolphins]’.

Whales and dolphins are highly intelligent. They can swim up to 100 miles a day, hunting and playing in the wild. In captivity they have very little space and cannot behave naturally. A concrete tank can never replace their ocean home.

Past success
WDC had also previously met with BA representatives to present scientific evidence that these creatures are not suited to life in tanks, and also presented over 300,000 public signatures to our petition asking the airline to stop selling the tickets that helped fund the cruel whale and dolphin captivity industry.

In addition, WDC’s campaign film, A letter to Richard Branson, made media headlines and has been watched by over 100,000 people on YouTube. An immediate instruction to Virgin Holidays by Sir Richard followed stopping work with any aquarium or theme park that continued to capture whales and dolphins from the wild or import whales and dolphins taken from the wild.

WDC has partnered with the SEA LIFE Trust to create the world’s first beluga whale sanctuary in Iceland. It is hoped initiatives like this will encourage the rehabilitation of more captive whales and dolphins into natural environments around the world, and one day help to bring an end to whale and dolphin entertainment shows.

Help us end whale and dolphin captivity.

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