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© Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute, taken under NOAA permit #26919. Funded by United States Army Corps of Engineers

Birth announcement! First right whale calf of the 2024 calving season spotted

November 29, 2023 - On November 28th, researchers from the Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute...
© Peter Flood

Two New England-based nonprofits awarded nearly $400k federal grant

© Peter Flood November 20, 2023 - Contact: Jake O'Neill, Conservation Law Foundation, (617) 850-1709,...
Right whale - Regina WDC

North Atlantic right whale population has stabilized

WDC attends Ropeless Consortium and North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium WDC was in Canada this...
Moana, Marineland France

Orca Moana dies suddenly at Marineland

Twelve-year old orca, Moana has died suddenly at the Marineland Antibes theme park facility in...

China’s backwards step ignores growing public feeling against breeding orcas in captivity

Just as public opinion turns against keeping orcas in captivity, China has decided to launch a new orca-breeding facility.

Nine orcas have been revealed to the public, five male and four female, at the country’s new breeding base at Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in Guangdong Province.

The move seems particularly strange coming as it does when organizations around the world are looking to end such breeding programmes like this and the public turns its back on cruel captivity shows.

 

SeaWorld, the giant US aquarium and marine life park, has now ended orca breeding. The governor of California signed legislation last week banning orca breeding and orca performances in the state from June, and legislation introduced to the US Congress this month could end orca captivity in the US. A number of US states have already banned the practice, as have some countries. 

Orcas in captivity have been shown to have much shorter life-spans and to display abnormal behaviour not seen in the wild. There are around 500 marine mammals in captivity in China, according to government records.

More on orcas held in Chinese marine parks.