A 40-year-old ban on commercial whaling is in danger after “misleading” resolutions were put forward at the International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting in Portorož, Slovenia. The wildlife protection organisations OceanCare and Humane Society International said proposals by pro-whaling countries, including Antigua and Barbuda, could reverse progress made by the IWC. Antigua and Barbuda has submitted […]
Tag: minke whale
Whales and walruses: our cruel fascination with stranded sealife
In the light of the sad and disputatious fate of Freya, a displaced walrus who had the misfortune to choose Norway as the last stop on her misbegotten tour of Europe (having gone from Northumberland to the Netherlands, where latterly she dozed on a moored navy submarine and raised speculation that she might be making […]
Watch as 50ft blue whale is eaten alive by pack of bloodthirsty orcas off Australian coast
This is the grisly moment a 50ft blue whale is eaten alive by a pack of bloodthirsty orcas off the Australian coast. The orcas were captured tearing into the blue whale, causing a streak of blood in the water in their wake. Jemma Sharp, who runs Whale Watch Western Australia, was only a few metres […]
Japanese whaling industry on the brink of collapse: less demand, less subsidies for whale meat
The whaling industry in Japan is on the brink of collapse as young generations tastes have rapidly changed and government subsidies are beginning to shrink. The industry employed thousands of people in the decades immediately after World War II, and sustained entire communities during those difficult economic times, is today losing the government subsidies that […]
Petition: Demand Norway Phase Out Whaling
Whales are beautiful, intelligent, majestic creatures. Sadly, hundreds of thousands of them die as a result of bycatch, shipping accidents, plastic pollution, among other man-made issues every year. In 1986, a moratorium from the International Whaling Commission (IWC) banned commercial whaling; however, Iceland, Norway, and Japan refuse to comply. Whaling involves harpooning a whale that […]
‘Minke whales for dinner’: Norway’s controversial whale hunt is still on
Norway plans to kill up to 1,278 minke whales this year, according to a recent announcement made by the country’s fisheries ministry. This is the same quota as the previous two years, although whalers only killed 503 common minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) in 2020, and 429 in 2019. “Norwegian whaling is about the right to […]
Norway Releases 2021 Hunting Quota for Over 1200 Minke Whales
According to the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), Norway has issued a kill quota for over 1,200 whales for the 2021 whaling season. This issuance is despite a global moratorium on whaling. During Norway’s 2020 season, over 500 whales were killed. The government also relaxed several whaling regulations so additional vessels could join the hunt. Whalers […]
Campaigners condemn killing of minke whale trapped in nets in Japan
Animal welfare campaigners have condemned the killing of a trapped minke whale off the coast of Taiji, a town in Japan best known for its annual dolphin cull. The young whale, which had been trapped inside nets since 24 December, was killed early on Monday morning before being taken ashore wrapped in blue tarpaulin, according […]