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Iceland’s whale hunters start seasonal slaughter to put whale meat on tourist plates

The Icelandic Minke Whalers Association (Hrefnuveiðimenn ehf.) has confirmed that one of its boats, the Hrafnreyður KO-100 has now sailed (Wednesday) out of Hafnarfjorður for the start of the minke whaling season there. Despite poor weather conditions, the vessel is now looking for minke whales in Faxaflói Bay. Up to 40% of Iceland’s minke whale catch ends up on the dinner plates of tourists visiting the country. More than 100 restaurants and shops are selling minke whale meat and Iceland’s whalers are putting more effort into promoting the sale of whale meat as an exotic food. The minke

The bitter taste of fish and chips – how a national treasure is propping up whale slaughter in Iceland

WDCS, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, is calling on UK citizens to ask some serious questions about the source of the fish that is battered and fried in over 10,000 fish and chip shop across the country, following the conservation charity’s discovery that much of this fish comes from Icelandic fleets with close links to large scale whaling. WDCS is campaigning to shut down Iceland’s struggling whaling industry by throwing the spotlight on those wholesalers, shops and restaurants in the UK that buy fish from Icelandic fishing companies with clear links to the country’s whaling

Orca - Hostage to fortune?

After a year of tragedy for both orcas and trainers alike, WDCS asks what lessons have been learnt?On February 24th 2010, the world was shocked by the tragic news that trainer Dawn Brancheau had been killed by Tilikum, a male orca at SeaWorld Orlando, USA, resulting in a huge media response. Just a few weeks before, another tragic death occurred at Tenerife’s Loro Parque in Spain, where trainer Alexis Martinez was killed by Keto, also a male orca. One year on, questions still remain unanswered – similar deaths have never been reported involving orcas in the wild, so should such large and

Groups seek US trade sanctions against Iceland in response to escalating whaling activities

Sanctions move could deal a death blow to Iceland's out of control whaling industryNineteen conservation and animal welfare groups, representing tens of millions of U.S. citizens, today called on the US Secretaries of Commerce and Interior to impose trade sanctions against Iceland for its escalating defiance of international conservation agreements on commercial whaling. A petition filed by the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) on behalf of the ‘Whales Need US’ coalition and Species Survival Network, urges Secretaries Locke and Salazar to invoke U.S. conservation legislation

Conservation group criticises decision to keep rescued wild orca in captivity

The decision by a Dutch dolphinarium not to release a previously stranded wild orca, but instead to keep the animal in a concrete tank for the rest of its life has been criticised by conservationists as detrimental to the animal’s health. The Free Morgan Group is alarmed by the Harderwijk dolphinarium’s recent conclusion that the young female orca, called Morgan, is not considered as a suitable candidate for release back into the wild after being kept there since being rescued from the Wadden Sea in June. Cathy Williamson from the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, a member of the Free

Clever dolphins learn to walk on the wild side just for fun

Apparently, it’s the latest fashion. Studies in Australia by the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) have revealed a growing number of dolphins in the wild are teaching themselves to walk. WDCS’s Dr Mike Bossley has been observing Adelaide’s Port River dolphins in Australia for the past 24 years and has documented spectacular tail walking in two adult female dolphins, Billie and Wave. But, amazingly, it seems that tail walking is spreading through the Port River dolphin community with four other individuals now having been seen perfecting their walking techniques in recent months.

Whalers using whale oil to fuel whaling boats highlights the confusing state of a dying industry says WDCS

As the whaling season in European waters draws to a close this month, the hunting activities of Norway and Iceland demonstrate the confusing nature of a whaling industry in decline and the perverse messages it sends out to Europe, says the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS). Norway, after granting itself its highest whaling quota since the moratorium came into effect (1286 in total) has killed fewer minke whales this season than last. The total Norwegian hunt reached 464 whales as of September 5th, compared with 482 at the same time last year, figures which reflect the falling

Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society welcomes citation against Sea World following tragic death of orca trainer

WDCS table of incidents involving trainers highlights issues surrounding captive orca showsThe Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) has welcomed today’s official announcement from the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) that it has issued a citation against Sea World determining the company’s interactive orca programmes (including its circus style shows) willfully exposed employees to recognized hazards that were likely to cause death or serious physical harm. OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with ‘plain indifference to, or intentional disregard

Greenland defies IWC rules by authorizing humpback whaling before hunt is legal

Greenland’s Ministry of Fisheries has announced that it will allow a hunt of nine humpback whales to start immediately, despite the fact that this decision violates International Whaling Commission (IWC) regulations clearly specifying that this quota of humpbacks cannot legally come into effect until mid-October. Greenland obtained approval from the IWC last June to start a hunt of nine humpback whales a year but, despite acknowledging in a letter to the Commission that to begin the hunt before the mid-October deadline would be a violation of IWC regulations, it seems that the Greenland’s

Decision to allow seismic surveys in Moray Firth protected area condemned by Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society

As the US starts to count the massive conservation costs of the current oil slick disaster off the coast of Louisiana , agreement by the UK government to allow two companies to begin seismic surveys in preparation for potential future oil and gas development in the Moray Firth, Scotland has been condemned by groups including the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) as being a decision based on heavily flawed environmental assessments, and one that fails to take into consideration the potential for negative long term impacts on the dolphin population that resides in what is supposed

Whales intended for subsistence in Greenland are sold in 4-star restaurants to tourists

An investigation conducted by WDCS in May 2010 documents how a Greenland company commissions subsistence whalers to hunt whales for them to sell in supermarkets and how that whale meat ends up on dinner plates at 4-star tourist hotels. Greenland must withdraw its request to increase its whaling quota by ten humpback whales a year until it can demonstrate that its quota is only used to meet genuine nutritional subsistence needs.Despite the moratorium on commercial whaling, some indigenous peoples are allowed by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to hunt a limited number of whales to

The ban stays! Pro-whaling advocates loose their fight to legalize commercial whaling

Pro-whaling supporters were dealt a bitter blow today when it was revealed that the International Whaling Commission (IWC) have failed to reach consensus in Morocco on a deal to legitimize commercial whaling, thus signaling a significant victory for organizations like the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS), who have campaigned long and hard to keep the 24 year ban in place. Pro-whaling advocates decided that it was too risky to push their proposal to a vote and suffer the humiliation of it being publicly rejected, after it became increasingly clear that the majority of nations

Whaling conference starts amidst scandal, corruption and secrecy

Agadir, 21st of June 2010. Only shortly after the long anticipated 62nd annual Meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) was opened in Agadir, Morocco, the meeting was swiftly closed to all but Government delegates. The now secret meeting is discussing the highly controversial proposal to resume commercial whaling and, in contravention of normal practice, countries decided to expel NGOs and the media from the key focus of the meeting and to negotiate behind closed doors. This comes after serious accusations were raised in the media about corruption at the highest levels of the

School children to deliver clear message to EU on the eve of commercial whaling vote: Please stop whaling!

When: 22nd June, 11.30am (local time) Why: Delivery of 180,000 anti-whaling postcard petition Where: In front of EU Commission HQ, Berlaymont Building, Brussels Who: To be delivered to the EU Environment CommissionerDetails An anti-whaling protest by more than 180,000 people from 11 different countries will be taken to the heart of the EU this Tuesday (22nd June). Thousands of postcards filled in by visitors to Sea Life Centres across the globe calling for an end to whaling will be among those delivered in person to the European Commissioner for the Environment, Janez Potocnik in Brussels

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