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Common dolphin

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

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Japanese whaling ship

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  • All policy news
  • Create healthy seas
  • End captivity
  • Prevent deaths in nets
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Sperm whale © Douglas Hoffman

Featured policy news item

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nunc magna elit, gravida at lectus vitae,...
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Holiday giant Thomas Cook stops selling tickets to Seaworld and Loro Parque

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Endangered Southern Resident orca loses newborn calf

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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
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...
All policy news
  • All policy news
  • Create healthy seas
  • End captivity
  • Prevent deaths in nets
  • Stop whaling
  • Strandings
Sperm whale © Douglas Hoffman

Featured policy news item

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nunc magna elit, gravida at lectus vitae,...
sea_world_orlando_rob_lott

Holiday giant Thomas Cook stops selling tickets to Seaworld and Loro Parque

Holiday giant Thomas Cook stops selling tickets to Seaworld and Loro Parque Following a three...

Endangered Southern Resident orca loses newborn calf

In heartbreaking news from the Pacific Northwest, the Center for Whale Research has reported that...
srkw_shoup_2003_text

U.S. Defense Bill weakens protections for whales

24 July 2018, Plymouth, MA: The FY2019 National Defense Authorization Act conference report was released...

Positive whaling news emerges from Iceland

Fin whaling plant in Iceland

News emerging from Iceland indicates that the company behind Iceland’s fin whale hunts, Hvalur hf, will not be venturing out to kill endangered fin whales this summer. 

According to Icelandic press reports, Hvalur hf’s owner, Kristian Loftsson has said the hunts will not take place due to tough market conditions in Japan. This will be the second year in a row that the company will not conduct any fin whale hunts, and is great news for the species. The last hunts to take place off the coast of Iceland two years ago saw over 146 fin whales slaughtered, including at least two rare blue whale/fin whale hybrids and a dozen pregnant females.

Loftsson also states the difficulty of whaling and processing whale meat during the current COVID-19 pandemic as another reason not to hunt this year. However, this contradicts the whaling industry in Norway. Whaling vessels there have set sail to begin their minke whale slaughter already.

It is unclear whether Loftsson's reasons for abandoning the summer hunts are true. Whaling continues to be largely unprofitable. The hunts are also cruel, and increasingly unpopular in Iceland.

WDC CEO, Chris Butler-Stroud said, ‘This decision will see the lives of hundreds of the world’s most remarkable fellow creatures saved. For many years WDC has been illustrating the fact that commercial whaling has only survived because of perverse government subsidies abusing taxpayers’ monies to keep their fleets afloat. Unable to sell whale meat to Icelanders at home,  it’s now comical to see Iceland’s infamous whaler Kristján Loftsson complaining about Japanese government subsidies distorting a market that would never exist if it had to rely on consumer demand alone.’

WDC has long campaigned against commercial whaling of both fin and minke whales in Iceland, and the transit of fin whale meat to Japan.

Help us keep up the pressure and STOP all whaling. DONATE.

 

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