Archive for January 2016
New Proposed Regulations Governing Captive Whale and Dolphin Care Released
The release of today’s proposed rule by The Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to update guidelines for the care and handling of captive whales and dolphins is being met with mixed reviews by animal welfare advocates. Fourteen years after APHIS began the public review process, the agency released a proposed rule to update these…
Read MoreDolphins in the Desert—what’s wrong with this picture?
What do a seemingly innocuous article circulating in the Mexican media in early January and a profile piece on an amusement park industry website have in common? They give a glimpse of the firestorm that is about to erupt in the desert of central Arizona if reports are true as WDC has just learned of a proposed…
Read MoreThere Be Dolphins…
Sightings of dolphins have been few and far between this month and I have only had my first proper sighting in the Inner Moray Firth yesterday. About 2 km out from the Rosemarkie shore where I was observing – a splash that was higher than the surrounding choppy sea indicated something breaching and lo and…
Read MoreMacht euch Walhodenbier zu "echten Männern"?
Wieviel Hilfe braucht ein Wikinger eigentlich, um sich als „echter Mann“ zu fühlen? Es ist enttäuschend zu sehen, dass die isländische Brauerei Stedji trotz der zahlreichen Proteste im letzten Jahr wieder ihr „Hvalur“ Bier braut. Das Bier enthält geräucherte Finnwalhoden und wird während dem isländischen Winterfest Thorri verkauft, das von Mitte Januar bis Mitte Februar…
Read MoreExactly how much help do Vikings need in order to feel like “real men”?
I’m really disappointed to see that despite a general ‘thumb’s down’ on taste grounds from those who sampled it last year, Iceland’s Stedji brewery is once again brewing its ‘Hvalur’ beer, flavoured with smoked fin whale testicles, to sell during Þorri (Thorri), the Icelandic mid winter festival which runs from mid-January to mid-February. This year,…
Read MoreFishermen in Japan save stranded whale
An injured sperm whale recently found stranded by fishermen near Tokushima in Japan, was helped back into the water in a compassionate act, showing that not all news from Japan regarding whales is bad. The fishermen worked hard to save the whale, cheered on by passers-by, and WDC is grateful for the dedicated efforts of…
Read MoreWDC team attends dolphin stranding in Scotland
A team from WDC’s Scottish Dolphin Centre attended the stranding of a young striped dolphin at Lossiemouth in the Moray Firth yesterday. At around 10.30am the Centre received a call from British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) that the dolphin had been seen on the beach. WDC staff quickly joined the BDMLR team on the scene…
Read MoreTeeth illegally taken from dead sperm whale
Shocking pictures have emerged of ‘trophy’ hunters hacking at the bodies and stealing teeth from sperm whales recently washed up on a beach in Skegness, UK. Taking the teeth from the whales is an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, and local police have confirmed that they are investigating. Graffiti has also been sprayed…
Read MoreNearly 40,000 square miles of protection granted for last 500 Right Whales
WASHINGTON— In response to the efforts of conservation and wildlife protection groups, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) today protected 39,414 square miles of ocean as critical habitat for North Atlantic right whales. Only about 500 of the critically endangered whales exist today, and without additional protections the species faces a serious risk of extinction.…
Read MoreMayday Monday – Who are the Southern Residents?
Who are the Southern Residents? The Southern Resident orca community lives in the coastal waters of the Pacific Northwest. This iconic, beloved fish-eating population of orca is in trouble: they have become one of the most endangered marine mammals on the planet. Their range overlaps with mammal-eating Bigg’s orcas and the Northern Resident population, and…
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