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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...

Captured beluga whales forced into military service

According to media reports from Russia, captured beluga whales are to be used to guard naval bases, assist military divers and help kill enemy intruders. The move comes as President Putin attempts to boost Russia’s influence in the Arctic.

The reports claim that the beluga’s highly sensitive sonar capability made them potentially suitable for guarding the waters around the entrances to naval facilities. President Putin has re-opened old Soviet military bases in the Arctic in an attempt to claims the right to exploit vast energy resources in the area.

Russian and US armed forces have previously been involved in developing programmes to train seals and dolphins for military service, detecting underwater mines and training to keep enemy swimmers away from warships. However, in 2012, the US military said that it would end its training programme within five years.

Whales and dolphins used for military means are often captured and removed from their family pod. They are then held in captivity unable to travel the distances that they would in the wild each day. Many die from infections, gastric impaction (swallowing a foreign object), pneumonia, spinal fractures or drowning.