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.
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, 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Images taken by conservation group, Sea Shepherd appear to indicate that Japanese whale hunters have been slaughtering whales in an Australian whale sanctuary.
The pictures show a dead minke whale on the deck of the whale factory ship, Nisshin Maru, which the vessels crew reportedly tried to cover up when they realised that they were being photographed.
The embarrassing discovery comes shortly after Japan's Prime, Minister Shinzo Abe arrived in Sydney to continue talks on closer defence ties with Australia.
Disturbing pictures emerging from China seem to show a whale being chopped up outside a company canteen for either dog food, or as a gift to employees from their boss.
The Brydes whale is reported to have been purchased by Risun Solar Energy’s owner for 4,000 yuan (nearly £500) from fishermen in neighbouring, coastal Zhejiang province, and then transport to the premises in Xinyu City, in Jiangxi Province.
