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North Atlantic right whale - Peter Flood

Whale AID 2023: A Night of Music and Hope for North Atlantic Right Whales

The inaugural Whale AID concert to support Whale and Dolphin Conservation's (WDC's) work to protect...
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Meet the 2023 Interns: Thomas Zoutis

I'm happy to introduce WDC's first Marine Mammal Conservation Intern of the year, Thomas Zoutis!...
MicrosoftTeams-image (9)

Double Your Impact for Marine Animal Rescue & Response

On a chilly day this past December, the WDC North America team celebrated the first...
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WDC’s Education Wishlist = Cleared!

To the WDC Community, I want to thank you so much for your support of...
Hysazu Photography

Looking forward for Southern Resident orcas in 2023

Hysazu Photography 2022 was a big year for Southern Resident orcas - 2022 brought the...
Credit: Seacoast Science Center

The Unlikely Adventure of Shoebert, a Young Grey Seal Who Visited an Industrial Park Pond

Credit: Seacoast Science Center In mid-September, our stranding partners in northern Massachusetts were inundated with...
Leaping harbour porpoise

The power of harbour porpoise poo

We know we need to save the whale to save the world. Now we are...
Right whale - Regina WDC

Whale and Dolphin Conservation: Change Through Policy.

WDC focuses on education, research, conservation projects, and policy work to create a sustainable future...

The Illegal River Dolphin Hunt

WDC has part-funded the creation of an important documentary film about the illegal river dolphin hunt in the Amazon.

The terrible truth behind the cruel and unsustainable boto slaughter is exposed in this documentary produced by the Omacha Foundation and part-funding by WDC:  “The Pulse of the River”. The film shows people in Colombia the real cost of eating the fish.

group of Amazon river dolphins swimming togetherThe biggest threat to river dolphins or botos in the Amazon is man.  The most extreme threat of all is Illegal hunting of botos (mainly in Brazil) for fish bait which began in 2000. Alarmingly illegal boto hunting continues to increase in scope and scale; it is threatening the future of botos and responsible for untold cruelty and brutality.  Those responsible for boto hunting are fishermen living in very poor riverine communities alongside botos; both people and botos are reliant on catching fish to survive. Increasingly botos are seen as pests, competing for dwindling fish catches in the Amazon. Hunting botos for free not only provides valuable fish bait; it also stamps out the competition. 

WDC is seriously concerned about the long term future for botos and the pain and suffering endured by each and every boto killed.  The hunt is incredibly cruel; botos are killed using spears, machetes and knives.  Boto carcasses often show signs of severe physical violence before death.  In some cases botos have been caught and tethered using rope around their tails until they are required for bait.

Piracatinga fish are carnivorous and attracted in large numbers by a boto carcass (bait).  Local fishermen consider eating this rather smelly fish as distasteful and so sell it to traders who export most of it to Colombia. The fish is heavily laden with mercury and people buying it in Colombian supermarkets are unaware of the potential health threats to themselves or the terrible suffering inflicted on botos.