The Icelandic government has announced that commercial whaling can resume after the activity was suspended for more than two months. Commercial hunting of fin whales can resume but with stricter requirements on hunting methods and increased supervision, the government said. In June, Svandís Svavarsdóttir, the country’s minister of food, agriculture and fisheries, postponed this year’s planned whale […]
The UK Government upheld its long-standing opposition to commercial whaling at the 68th meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in Slovenia this week, advocating to uphold the moratorium that was agreed 40 years ago. The United Kingdom also secured further support for the protection of whales, dolphins and porpoises (cetaceans) and has […]
Saving the Whales Again: Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the International Whaling Commission’s global ban on commercial whaling and looking ahead. Lucy Babey, Head of Science and Conservation, Deputy Director, at ORCA and Chair of the Link Marine Mammals Group, reflects on the 40th anniversary of the International Whaling Commission’s global ban on commercial whaling. […]
Whale & Dolphin Conservation Society commentary Observer editorial sums up the futility of this decision not least in terms of the reputational damage this will inflict upon Japan. Defra: There is widespread coverage of Japan’s decision to leave the International Whaling Commission (IWC). The Times, Guardian and Daily Mail praise the Environment Secretary Michael Gove for joining international condemnation of […]
Whales & Whaling – Japan fails to overturn whaling ban at IWC meeting An attempt to overturn the decades-old global ban on commercial whaling has failed, to the relief of conservationists. Anti-whaling nations defeated by a decisive margin proposals from the Japanese government that would have allowed for the return of whale hunts. The vote, on the […]
Philip Hoare Guardian ‘They might as well have shot a giant panda. This week an Icelandic whaling company, Hvalur hf, caused uproar when it was revealed that it had killed a blue whale. Hvalur has killed hundreds of fin whales – mostly destined as meat for export to Japan. It resumed its hunt in June, after a three-year hiatus. But […]
More than 120 pregnant whales were killed during Japan’s annual “research” hunt in the Southern Ocean last summer, a new report has revealed. Of the 333 minke whales caught during the controversial 12-week expedition, 181 were female – including 53 immature ones. Figures show that of the 128 mature female whales caught in the hunt, […]
Cultural differences the Devon humpback which has been drawing huge crowds had to be rescued by volunteers from British Divers Marine Life Rescue, whilst Norway announces its plans to kill more minke whales. Whale & Dolphin Conservation ‘REALLY, NORWAY, YOU WANT TO KILL EVEN MORE WHALES THOUGH NO ONE WANTS TO EAT THEM? ‘Norwegian Fisheries […]