WDCS Scotland is an integral part of WDCS International. WDCS Scotland is committed to increasing the understanding of cetaceans and the threats that they face in Scottish waters and providing solutions to conservation and welfare issues.
 
More than 20 species of whale, dolphin and porpoise are found in the waters around Scotland and it is the best place in the UK to see a number of our whales and dolphins. Yet, as elsewhere, Scotland’s whales and dolphins face threats from disturbance and increasing development around the coasts as well as offshore.
 
WDCS Wildlife Centres at Spey Bay and North Kessock receive many thousands of visitors each year helping us work towards achieving better conservation outcomes for the whales and dolphins that live in Scottish waters. In addition to running and maintaining the two WDCS Wildlife Centres, and a WDCS Adoption Officer based at Chanonry Point, our conservation work in Scotland includes support of the Dolphin Space Programme, and a programme of education and interpretation as well as conservation-focused research. The conservation of the Moray Firth's bottlenose dolphins in the main focus of our POD campaign.

WDCS has long supported the dolphin research conducted by Aberdeen University in Scotland through our Adopt a Dolphin programme. We also conduct our own boat-based and land-based research, including Shore Watch in the Moray Firth and from Gairloch on the west coast.

All of these activities provide us with the opportunity to work with the community to achieve better protection for Scotland’s whales and dolphins. WDCS has been active in the Moray Firth for 20 years and is committed to achieving greater protection for whales and dolphins throughout Scotland’s waters.