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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...

Atlantic whale sanctuary blocked by whaling supporters

A plan to designate a vast swathe of the South Atlantic a whale sanctuary has not been approved after the proposal failed to get enough votes in favour at the current meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC). Under the IWC’s voting rules, the proposal needed a three-quarters majority to be passed and despite a majority of countries voting positively it was not enough.

The sanctuary proposal had been put forward by a number of countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Gabon, Uruguay and South Africa. However, Japan and other whaling countries such as Norway and Iceland, opposed the proposal, along by a number of smaller countries, many of whom have historically supported Japan’s position at the IWC. Find our who was in favour and against the sanctuary.

“We knew that it would probably not get the support – but it is still very disappointing,” Astrid Fuchs, head of WDC’s Stop Whaling Program, attending the meeting in Slovenia.

Find out the latest from the IWC and more about whaling.

About George Berry

George is a member of WDC's Communications team and website coordinator.