This year, whalers killed 575 minke whales in Norway—the highest number in five years. Adding this to the Grindadrap Dolphin Slaughter, this past year has seen human activity decimate cetacean populations around Scandinavia. The whaling industry is inherently cruel: about 20% of whales suffer for 6–25 minutes after being harpooned. The whales that survive, as […]
Tag: whaling
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 […]
Norwegian Whaling Season Wipes Out 575 Minke Whales
Norwegian whaling season has officially ended and resulted in a record killing of 575 minke whales – the highest number of whales killed in the past five years. Last year the kills amounted to 503. Vanessa Williams-Grey, policy manager at WDC, said “This is nothing short of ecocide. Killing hundreds of minke whales is utterly […]
Calls for UK to suspend trade deal with Faroe Islands after dolphin bloodbath
THE UK should suspend its free trade agreement with the Faroe Islands until it stops its whale and dolphin hunts, a leading animal welfare campaigner has demanded. Campaigner Dominic Dyer has launched a petition calling for the Government to put its trade deal with the North Atlantic archipelago on hold following an outcry over the […]
Judge recommends tribe be allowed to hunt gray whales off Washington state
An administrative law judge has recommended that a Native American tribe in Washington state be allowed to hunt gray whales – a major step in its decades-long effort to resume the ancient practice. “This is a testament to what we’ve been saying all these years: that we’re doing everything we can to show we’re moving […]
Culture shock: how loss of animals’ shared knowledge threatens their survival
At the peak of the whaling industry, in the late 1800s, North Atlantic right whales were slaughtered in their thousands. With each carcass hauled on to the deck, whalers were taking more than just bones and flesh out of the ocean. The slaughtered whales had unique memories of feeding grounds, hunting techniques and communication styles; […]
Tourists are driving Iceland’s whale meat trade
Chef Stefan Ulfarsson makes no bones about selling whale meat at his restaurant a short walk from Reykjavik’s tourist strip. Indeed, the owner of the Three Frakkar is so proud of it that he had a striking wooden statue of a whale’s tail in the restaurant garden. The tourists pouring into the seafood restaurant are […]
Tokyo Olympics ‘green’ efforts undermined by Japanese whaling, protesters warn
The Tokyo Olympics cannot be eco-friendly so long as the country kills whales that play a key role in tackling the climate crisis, the Japanese prime minister is being warned. The games, which begin on Friday, are being billed as the most eco-friendly ever, thanks to pledges such as using 100 per cent renewable energy […]