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Norway ups whale kill numbers and removes whale welfare protections

Hundreds of whales killed as Norwegian hunt season ends

The end of the whaling season in Norway has been announced with 580 minke whales killed by 13 whaling vessels in just under six months. Norway’s minister of fisheries had set a quota (number that can be killed) of 917 whales for this season. Thankfully that number was not reached but this was still the…

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No self-isolation for Norwegian whalers

While the world deals with the global issues around a pandemic, it seems that whalers in Norway will not be grounded by the coronavirus. The Norwegian whaling season starts on Wednesday, April 1st with a number of boats set to kill up to 1,278 minke whales. Last year, Norwegian whalers killed 429 minke whales, fewer than in 2018…

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Stunning new whale watching venue to be built in Norway

New plans to open a land-based whale watching attraction in Norway will promote the amazing opportunities to see whales in Norway. As a bonus, this could also help change the opinions of some Norwegians who still support whaling in the region.   The stunning looking building will sit right on the shore around 300km (~185…

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Japan to resume commercial hunts the day after leaving IWC

According to reports from Japan, whalers there are looking to begin a commercial whale hunt (killing whales for profit) one day after Japan formally withdraws from the IWC (International Whaling Commission – the global body that regulates whale hunting), on July 1st. This will be the first time Japan has openly hunted whales commercially for…

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Indigenous community in Norway seek permission to hunt dolphins

A new proposal to hunt dolphins and harbour porpoise put forward by the indigenous Sami people of northern Norway, has been endorsed by the representative Sami parliament. The Sami parliament, which oversees the Sami populations in Norway, northern Finland, parts of Russia and Sweden, unanimously endorsed the proposal and will now take their request to…

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Fin whales controversially taken off endangered list

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), a global body working on nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources has down-listed fin whales from ‘endangered’ to ‘vulnerable’ in its latest review.  Established in 1964, the IUCN is considered the global authority on the status of the world’s species and, whilst WDC believes any…

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Iceland shipment to Japan could contain meat from rare hybrid whales

WDC, along with a number of conservation and animal protection organisations, is calling on the Japanese government to prove that a shipment of Icelandic whale products that arrived in Ishinomaki, Japan, on November 14th does not include illegally imported meat from hybrid blue-fin whales.  The Icelandic Hvalur whaling company has slaughtered 145 endangered fin whales…

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