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: whaling
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 […]
‘Insanity’: entangled whale in Queensland sparks renewed calls for shark net removal
More whales are likely to get entangled every year unless the “sheer insanity” of shark nets are removed from Queensland waters, scientists say. Rescue teams freed an adult humpback from shark nets on Tuesday morning, taking the tally to at least seven whales caught in Queensland nets in less than three months – six of […]
Fin Whales Dying in Agony After Being Harpooned With Multiple Grenades
Whales are dying in agony after being harpooned with grenades that don’t immediately kill them and fail to explode inside of them. Icelandic whalers have long used grenade harpoons skewers to kill whales and according to experts, whalers use the weapons on an “alarming” number of fin whales before they drag them to shore, where […]
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 […]
US drafts new speed limits on shipping to help save endangered whales
Vessels off the US east coast must slow down more often to help save a vanishing species of whale from extinction, the federal government said. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration made the announcement via new proposed rules designed to prevent ships colliding with North Atlantic right whales. Vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing gear […]
Forty years ago, the world did something amazing for whales
This week marks the 40th anniversary of the global moratorium on commercial whaling, a momentous achievement that turned the course for long persecuted cetacean species. Slow to reproduce, whales were nearly wiped out altogether in the 20th century, with an estimated three million killed for profit. I gave my heart to the campaign for whales […]
Thousands of whale images are being combed through by researchers in order to help conserve a calving spot off the coast of Western Australia
Thousands of whale images are being combed through by researchers in order to help conserve a calving spot off the coast of Western Australia that was severely affected by the whaling industry. The researchers believe Geographe Bay, off the coast of south-west Western Australia, is an important calving ground that needs to be protected, and […]