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Common dolphin

WDC takes ‘A Walk in the Park…with Animal Friends’

Longstanding WDC partner Animal Friends returns with season two of their podcast 'A Walk in...
Japanese whaling ship

Infamous whale slaughter ship docks for the final time

The whaling ship, Nisshin Maru has returned to the port of Shimonoseki for the final...
Sperm whale

Dominica announces new protections for sperm whales

Dominica has placed almost 800 square kilometers of sea off the west coast of the...
Porpoise dies after becoming entangled in fishing net

UK government rejects chance to protect whales and dolphins

The government has formally rejected almost all of the crucial recommendations made in a House...

WDC monitors fin whale meat shipment via EU ports

WDC is closely monitoring the situation following information that a container ship, the Cosco Pride yesterday entered the port of Hamburg with a cargo of meat from endangered fin whales, slaughtered during the current Icelandic whale hunts. At least 22 fin whales have died since the hunting season opened last month. It is believed the whale meat was transferred onto the Cosco Pride at the port of Rotterdam from another vessel owned by the Samskip company, which had brought the meat from Iceland.

Only last month, WDC wrote to the EU to raise concerns about Iceland, Norway and Japan shipping whale products via EU ports. These whaling countries are not EU members and they refuse to be bound by regulations governing international trade in endangered whale species such as fin whales. WDC believes that since the EU prohibits international trade in whale products, that no exception should be made for non-EU countries to abuse its ports by transiting prohibited products.

Although the whale meat will not actually clear customs and thus not officially enter the EU market, WDC believes that by allowing such shipments to transfer through its ports, the EU is facilitating trade in an endangered species which is protected by multiple EU laws and whose hunting is contrary to the current international ban on commercial whaling.