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 […]
Tag: whaling
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 […]
Japanese whaling ships leave ports to hunt for whales
Two commercial whaling vessels departed on the 10th and 11th of June from the Japanese ports of Shimonoseki and Innoshima to kill up to 187 Bryde’s whales and 25 sei whales. Japan resumed commercial whaling three years ago after leaving the International Whaling Commission (IWC – the body that regulates whaling) and following widespread international […]
Norway Planning Auditory Experiment Using Whales
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) and other welfare groups are calling attention to a planned experiment in Norway using captured minke whales, according to an email from Animal Welfare Institute. Organizations are urging the Norwegian Food Safety Authority to revoke an approval that could be harmful to whales. According to permits discovered by AWI, the […]
POLL: Seaspiracy Controversial Documentary: Should marine life be treated as seafood or as wildlife?
If you’re wondering how detrimental eating fish is, sea for yourself: In the new Netflix documentary Seaspiracy, director Ali Tabrizi lays bare how commercial fishing devastates marine animals—and what will happen if humans continue to consume fish. Created by the same team that made the illusion-shattering feature Cowspiracy, Seaspiracy goes below the surface to reveal […]
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 […]