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.
Commercial whaling
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.
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.
New survey shows another fall in local support for whale hunting in Iceland
A new poll has revealed another big drop public support by the Icelandic people for whale hunting.
The survey shows that only 34% now agree with a continuation of commercial whaling in the country and that it is essentially ‘uneducated, middle-aged and older men with below average incomes’ that are most likely to call for the cruel practice to continue.
New UK report calls for action on animal welfare after Brexit
A new report backed by WDC has been released today calling on the UK Government to turn words into action when it comes to the welfare of whales, dolphins and many other creatures.
Norwegian Fisheries Minister defends controversial whale hunts
Norwegian Fisheries Minister, Per Sandberg, has released a lengthy opinion piece in local media regarding his country’s whaling and the need to support it, exclaiming that “I want to make sure that whaling stays alive!”: The minister states that 2017 was the worst year for the industry for some time, with fewer vessels participating and fewer whales killed. Sandberg slams a recent EU resolution opposing Norwegian whaling and vows to fight to ensure that whale meat transits through EU waters and ports will continue.
Cautious welcome for UK Government’s 25 year Environment Plan
The UK Government’s long awaited 25 Year Environment Plan for England was launched today and contains some optimistic comments regarding threats to whales and dolphins, but also some key omissions.
EU and 12 other nations condemn Japanese whale hunting in Antarctic
The European Union, together with 12 other nations, has issued a formal statement condemning Japan's Antarctic whale hunting programme and rejected the Japanese government’s weak argument that the slaughter is for scientific research.
Norwegian hunters may kill nearly one thousand whales
Norway’s minke whaling season opened Saturday with whalers given an increased quota of 999, up from 880 whales last year.
The quota (number of whales they can kill) is self-allocated and set by Norway's own Fisheries Ministry, which claims that it has set the quota numbers in accordance with scientific advice from the international body that regulates whaling (International Whaling Commission - IWC). However, these inflated kill numbers are higher than would be deemed "sustainable" by the IWC's own scientific committee.
Hope for whales in South Korea as coastguard announces clamp down on illegal hunting
The South Korean coastguard has announced that it will be increasing efforts to crack down on illegal whaling in the Yellow Sea.
Police and coast guard officials have been catching more and more poachers involved in the hunts, which are fuelled by high prices paid by local restaurants for the meat. A single minke whale can sell for tens of thousands of pounds.
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