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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...

US Aquarium wants to create sanctuary for captive dolphins

The National Aquarium in Baltimore, US has announced that eight of the bottlenose dolphins it holds will now be retired to a natural sea sanctuary by 2020.

A location has not been found yet but the intention is for the dolphins to remain in the sanctuary under human care. The dolphins stopped public performances at the aquarium in 2012 but remain on display.

Recently, SeaWorld announced that the orcas it holds captive would no longer perform in shows, but the company will keep them in small tanks rather than freeing them into a sea sanctuary.

WDC is continuing its work with Merlin Entertainments to establish sanctuaries for bottlenose dolphins and beluga whales. The fact that The National Acquarium has not announced a location, and that the sanctuary won’t operate for at least four years, highlights how long and complicated the process to find and develop the right site really is. Sanctuaries need to offer space and protection in clean waters of the right temperature, and require large amounts of funding to keep them operational. You can read more on that story here.

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