Skip to content
All news
  • All news
  • About whales & dolphins
  • Corporates
  • Create healthy seas
  • End captivity
  • Green Whale
  • Prevent bycatch
  • Prevent deaths in nets
  • Science
  • Scottish Dolphin Centre
  • Stop whaling
  • Stranding
Icelandic hunting vessels in port

Whaling boat kept in port after more hunt cruelty exposed

Icelandic whale hunting fleet One of the whaling boats involved in the latest hunts in...
Commerson's dolphin

New Important Marine Mammal Areas added to global ocean conservation list

Commerson's dolphin Experts from a number of countries have mapped out a new set of...
Fin whale shot with two harpoons

Whalers kill just days after Iceland’s hunt suspension is lifted

Whalers in Iceland have claimed their first victims since the lifting (just a few days...
Fin whale

Icelandic government lifts suspension on cruel hunts

The Icelandic government is to allow fin whales to be hunted again after lifting a...

WDC demands change to law after study links hundreds of seal deaths to ducted ship propellers

A coalition of 26 wildlife and conservation groups, including WDC is demanding a Scottish, UK and international ban on the use of a specific type of propeller after a study conducted for the Scottish government by St Andrews University has linked their use to the deaths of hundreds of seals.

The research found that seals trapped in ducted propeller systems used on some workboats suffer horrific and fatal “corkscrew” injuries from the blades that sit inside a casing.  Ducted propellers make them more efficient at low speeds, but it now appears that the seals are sucked in and become trapped between the propeller blades and the casing.

“This is one of the UK’s biggest marine conservation and welfare tragedies,” said WDC’s Northeast Atlantic programme man­­ager, Sarah Dolman, who co-ordinated a joint protest letter to the Scottish government.

“Despite the worst-affected populations of harbour seals heading for local extinction, we have not seen any evidence that the UK and devolved governments plan to act to stop these needless deaths.”

About 100 seals have been officially confirmed killed in Scotland, most of them since 2010. However, many carcasses are not washed ashore and reported, so the numbers are likely to be a lot higher according to the study.