The fight to protect marine mammals from brutal hunting practices continues across Europe. Iceland and the Faroe Islands, two regions steeped in whaling and cetacean hunting traditions, have come under international scrutiny as their actions stand in stark contrast to global conservation efforts. Iceland’s Whaling Crisis Iceland’s last remaining whaling company, Hvalur hf., has faced […]
Tag: whaling
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 […]
Whales ‘relentlessly pestered’: tourism boom sparks new rules in French Polynesia
Lisette Muratore swam with humpback whales for the first time off the coast of Mo’orea, an island in French Polynesia, as part of a guided tour. She describes the experience as “overwhelming.” “You have a sudden realisation of the immensity of these creatures … seeing their wild beauty, it’s almost like there’s something sacred about […]
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 […]
Iceland Grants the Last Whaling Company Hunting License
Iceland has granted a license to Europe’s last whaling company, Hvalur, to kill 128 fin whales this year, a move that has sparked widespread condemnation from animal rights groups. This decision comes after hopes were raised that the practice might be halted due to concerns about the cruelty involved, which led to a temporary suspension […]
Sighting of Many Blue Whales Around the Seychelles is First in Decades – ‘Phenomenal’
The Seychelles has become a major tourist destination for beachgoing and scuba diving, but it’s not only humans that are beginning to flock to this island. In what marine biologists have described as a “phenomenal finding,” a survey of whales around the territorial waters of this archipelagic nation revealed the presence of blue whales—over a […]
Baleens – beneficial gluttons of the seas.
Scientists believe the ravenous appetites of baleen whales – Earth’s largest creatures – and their prodigious waste – hold clues to the very health and productivity of our oceans. Baleens include the humpback, fin, minke and blue whale, the latter being the largest creature ever to live on Earth. The carnivorous marine mammals catch and […]