Posts by Danny Groves
Huge success for WDC campaign as Virgin Holidays ends SeaWorld trips
Virgin Holidays has announced that it is to stop selling tickets to SeaWorld as part of a move to cut links with facilities that hold whales and dolphins in captivity for entertainment. The announcement represents a huge success for WDC’s ongoing campaign to stop tour operators promoting and supporting the captivity industry, a campaign that…
Read MoreHow you fly two beluga whales home to the ocean
Ahead of the relocation of Little White and Little Grey to the world’s first open water sanctuary for belugas, we gave international media the opportunity to discover how this epic 6,000-mile journey will be delivered to plan, and speak to some of the expert team involved in making this as comfortable a journey as possible…
Read MoreNew date set for beluga move to sanctuary
Following bad weather preventing the initial operation to move two beluga whales from captivity in China to a new ocean home in Iceland, we’re pleased to confirm a new date has been set for the departure of Little Grey and Little White. Our top priority has always been Little Grey and Little White’s welfare and…
Read MoreUpdate: Beluga move home to the ocean temporarily postponed
We can confirm the departure of two belugas, Little Grey and Little White from their current home in China to an ocean sanctuary in Iceland has had to be postponed. The temporary delay is due to the final leg of the complicated journey between the Icelandic mainland and the Island of Heimaey. Sadly, due to…
Read MoreNature may have the answer to plastic pollution
Scientists working on solutions to the growing problem of plastic pollution are now focusing attention on a potential breakthrough supplied by Mother Nature. A study by researchers at Utrecht University reveals that several species of mushrooms will break down and ‘eat’ plastic, sometimes in a matter of weeks. Some, such as the oyster mushroom, are…
Read MoreLast Japanese whale hunt for ‘research’ ends as mass slaughter for profit looms
Japanese vessels returned to port this weekend from what appears to be their last Antarctic Ocean whale hunting mission in the name of science. The fleet of five ships led by the 8,145-ton mothership Nisshin Maru left Japan for the Southern Hemisphere in November. Vessels returned to Shimonoseki port in Yamaguchi Prefecture and ports in…
Read MoreEU parliament approves ban on single use plastics
The European Union parliament has announced today that it has approved a ban on single-use plastics, a move that would reduce the amount of plastic pollution feeding into rivers and then out to the ocean. The ban covers several types of products, such as straws, cutlery and cotton buds, with the EU also encouraging all…
Read MoreControversial captive dolphin facility to close following another dolphin death
A dolphinaria in Arizona, US has announced that it will close for the immediate future following the death of a fourth dolphin that it held captive. The latest bottlenose dolphin to die was 22 year old Kai, who had not been eating, swimming or breathing normally in recent days according to an official statement. The…
Read MorePlastic found in all whales and dolphins examined for UK research project
Scientists examining dolphins, whales and seals washed up dead around the UK have found every single one had plastic in their digestive systems. All 50 bodies from 10 different species that had died from a variety of causes contained microplastic particles – mostly synthetic fibres that may have been shed by clothes or fishing nets.…
Read MoreAre France and Spain looking to weaken protection for whales and dolphins?
As EU governments continue to negotiate the terms of the Technical Measures under the European Common Fisheries Policy, it is emerging that French and Spanish Ministers seem set to choose fishing interests over the legal protection of dolphins, and other protected marine life, from entanglement in fishing gear in European waters. Entanglement in fishing nets and gear…
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