Skip to content
All news
  • All news
  • About whales & dolphins
  • Corporates
  • Create healthy seas
  • End captivity
  • Green Whale
  • Prevent deaths in nets
  • Scottish Dolphin Centre
  • Stop whaling
  • Stranding
  • Whale watching

Trade sanctions announced after Mexico fails to protect near extinct porpoise

The international body behind the treaty that protects endangered plants and animals from the threats...

WDC exposes failure of Government scheme to protect whales and dolphins from net deaths

Following our investigations, we have revealed that a UK Government scheme to protect whales and...

First cases of bird flu in dolphins discovered in the UK

The UK Government has announced that two dolphins and a harbour porpoise have died from...
Kiska the orca

Kiska the ‘world’s loneliest whale’ dies at Canadian theme park

Kiska, dubbed the loneliest whale in the world, has died at Marineland, a zoo and...

Wild caught dolphins on display for Olympic Winter Games

According to information received by WDC and partner group, OceanCare, dolphins caught during the cruel Japanese drive hunts are now thought to be held in dolphinaria in Sochi, Russia – venue for this year’s Winter Olympic Games. Other dolphins and small whales, captured in Russian waters, are also on display in the city. 

The dolphin hunts in Taiji, Japan are fuelled by the demand from the global amusement park industry, which selects and pays huge sums for young dolphins that will appear in ‘entertainment’ shows for the public if they survive the transportation ordeal. According to official trade statistics, in 2012 four bottlenose dolphins were exported to Russia. Existing captive dolphin facilities in the Russian Black Sea port of Sochi have been enlarged, and new aquaria built there following the decision to host the Games in the city.

According to Russian news reports, an endangered Black Sea bottlenose dolphin will drag an athlete carrying the Olympic flame through a pool as part of the torch bearing ceremony.

Every winter, the Japanese community of Taiji is the scene of dolphin drive hunts. During the last five months, many dolphins have been killed and 97 were captured alive to supply the captivity industry – 51 of them during the last hunt on January 17th.

WDC is already concerned by unconfirmed plans to display wild-caught orcas in Sochi.