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Meet the 2023 Interns: Kaylee McKenna

I'm excited to introduce Kaylee McKenna as WDC's summer Marine Mammal Conservation Intern. Kaylee has...
Lasting legacies

Lasting Legacies: Orca Action Month 2023

Each June we celebrate Orca Month and the unique community of Southern Resident orcas, and this...
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!...
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Double Your Impact for Marine Animal Rescue & Response

On a chilly day this past December, the WDC North America team celebrated the first...
20230126_091707

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...

Has SeaWorld rejected Branson’s demand to renounce live captures?

Sir Richard Branson quickly responded to our recent call to end his affiliation with captive facilities by issuing his own ultimatum to dolphinaria.

He has asked dolphinaria the world over to pledge to end live captures of whales and dolphins else Virgin will have nothing to do with them. Since his call for the pledge we have been monitoring the various facilities for a response.

It would seem that SeaWorld may have rejected his approach, as they continue to claim that they need to collect from the wild.

The following statement was live on their website as of 09:30 GMT 4th March

View SeaWorld’s statement on capturing wild marine mammals as pdf

As you can see it clearly states that SeaWorld believes “…collection from the wild remains an important part of the management of species in human care. The Marine Mammal Protection Act, one of the federal laws that govern human interaction with marine mammals in this country [USA], has a provision for collecting wild animals for public display.”

So Sir Richard, is Virgin going to drop SeaWorld? It seems that SeaWorld don’t see eye-to-eye with your request.

Please let Sir Richard Branson know that whale and dolphin captivity is a dying industry and he has to be part of the solution, not part of the problem

[<a href=”//storify.com/ButlerStroud/the-travel-companies-that-underpin-seaworld-and-wh” target=”_blank”>View the story “The travel companies that underpin SeaWorld and whale and dolphin captivity” on Storify</a>]