In Moby-Dick, Herman Melville’s epic novel of 1851, the author asks if whales would survive the remorseless human hunt. Yes, he says, as he foresees a future flooded world in which the whale would outlive us and “spout his frothed defiance to the skies”. Moby Dick was a grizzled old sperm whale that had miraculously […]
Tag: Fin Whale
Iceland’s president urged to intervene over licence for Europe’s last whaler
A coalition of conservation and animal welfare groups are urging Iceland‘s president to step in and stop any plans the prime minister has to issue a whaling licence to Europe’s last whaler before the Icelandic election at the end of the month. Earlier this year, the country granted a one-year licence to Hvalur to kill […]
Petition: Demand Iceland Ban Whale Hunting
Whale hunting is an extremely painful and cruel way to kill animals. Animals that haven’t even done anything wrong – they’re simply living their lives, swimming in their waters, when suddenly humans attack them with harpoons, leaving them to bleed out and suffer. Yet the government of Iceland has just approved a new license for […]
Australian government ‘deeply disappointed’ by Japan’s decision to expand commercial whaling target list
The Australian government is “deeply disappointed” by Japan’s decision to add the world’s second-largest whale species to the list of species its commercial whale hunters will target. Tanya Plibersek, the environment minister, attacked Japan’s decision to hunt fin whales – the world’s second-longest whale and considered vulnerable. The Japanese government this week confirmed it would […]
Petition: Help Stop Japan’s Hunting of Vulnerable Fin Whales
As Japan’s whaling killing season begins, the survival of fin whales is at risk. These majestic creatures are listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, yet fin whales were added to Japan’s list of targeted species. Now, a massive whaling factory ship has set sail to hunt these gentle giants, and […]
Issy Wheatear and more
Yesterday was my birthday but I couldn’t go birding. So today I cashed in on my birthday credit, and went out with James (AKA The Driver), Dave, Phil and Will to Burnham Overy Dunes. Weather was looking good and we hoped to find Norfolk’s first Sibe Accentor. But when we got there we started complaining […]