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Fin whale

Short and cruel hunt season ends in Iceland

The shortened Icelandic fin whale hunts season has finished with a final total of 23...
Bottlenose dolphins breaching

Landmark report reveals UK wildlife’s devastating decline

With whales and dolphins already facing many threats, a landmark report released this week reveals...
Dolphins with oil rig

Go ahead for new UK oil and gas exploration threatens whales and dolphins

Permission has been granted for the development of the UK's biggest untapped oilfield off Shetland,...
Icelandic hunting vessels in port

Whaling boat kept in port after more hunt cruelty exposed

Icelandic whale hunting fleet One of the whaling boats involved in the latest hunts in...

Community in Canada advised not to eat beluga whale meat after woman dies

A community in Quebec, Canada have been advised by local officials not to eat beluga whale meat after a woman died and her daughter was taken seriously ill in Inukjuak.

Dr. Francoise Bouchard, the director of public health for the region, said both cases have been diagnosed as botulism.

“It is probably from beluga meat,” said Dr Bouchard. Tests confirming the source have been carried out the local community has been told to keep clear of the frozen, dried or cooked meat. 

Botulism can cause severe vomiting, difficulty breathing and swallowing and overall weakness. It can also lead to complete paralysis and death.

High levels of pollutants like mercury, PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) and PFCs (perfluorinated compounds) from the world’s oceans also end up in sea mammals like whales and dolphins, and are eaten in the Faroe Islands, Greenland, parts of Siberia as well as Canada. 

Recently, Chief Physician at the Department of Occupational Medicine and Public Health in the Faroes reiterated warnings to the country’s population not to eat whale meat due to the risks of developing Parkinson’s disease, hypertension, arteriosclerosis, and other medical issues caused by the contaminants in the meat and blubber.

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