Tens of thousands of dolphins and whales are slaughtered every year.
WDCS is at the forefront of efforts to end commercial whaling for good; to stop the needless and cruel slaughter of small whales and dolphins for commercial purposes; and to end trade in their meat and other products.
Commercial whaling is cruel, unnecessary and unsustainable. Yet, in defiance of an international ban on commercial whaling, Japan, Norway and Japan continue to kill whales for commercial purposes. As pro-whaling countries step-up their campaign for a full-scale resumption of commercial whaling, we have a dedicated team working to counter their arguments. Much of our work takes place behind the scenes. We arm governments with the legal and scientific arguments they need to tackle attempts to justify ever increasing hunts at diplomatic and government levels and at critical international meetings.
Every year tens of thousands of small whales and dolphins are slaughtered around the world. In Japan, in shockingly cruel drive hunts, dolphins and small whales are driven into shallow bays and slaughtered with knives every year. Some dolphins are slaughtered for their meat and now, increasingly the aquarium industry pays larger sums for dolphins captured alive. We research and document these hunts, exposing the link between drive hunts and the captivity industry and highlighting the terrible suffering endured by dolphins captured and killed.
Humpbacks Get Stay Of Execution - But For How Long?
Humpbacks on death row get ‘stay of execution’ for next few weeks after Florida IWC meeting ends without a decision.
2010-March-04
IWC Meeting Ends, And Commercial Whaling Moves Closer
Members of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) met this week, to discuss a proposal to see a resumption in commercial whaling in preparation for its annual Meeting in June 2010.
2010-March-01
Failings Revealed In Greenland Whaling
A rift between countries continues to widened at a special meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in Florida , where a controversial decision on resuming humpback whale hunts off Greenland failed to be adopted.
2010-February-24
Norwegian Minke Whaling: A Memoir
What does history have to tell us about 'deals to fix whaling'? In the first of an occasional series of expert commentaries from WDCS, Dr. Sidney Holt reminds us that understanding the past is necessary if we want to avoid making the same mistakes.
2010-February-21
New Japanese Government Urged To Ban Poisonous Whale And Dolphin Products
WDCS is part of a coalition of international organizations that are calling on the new Japanese goverment to ban the sale of contaminated whale, dolphin and porpoise products for human consumption.
2009-November-24
Whale Hunting In The Faroe Islands
Every year in the Faroe Islands, a territory of Denmark, hundreds of pilot whales and other species including bottlenose dolphins, Atlantic white-sided dolphins and bottlenose whales, are hunted for their meat. The techniques used are intensely stressful
2009-November-24
Japanese Fleet Sets Sail For Antarctica
Less than a week after a visit to Japan by US President Obama, the Japanese whaling fleet has set sail for Antarctica.
2009-November-19
Latin American NGOs Speak Out Against Whaling
Alongside the negotiations for a “compromise” within the negotiations about the Future of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) 40 environmental NGOs jointly presented a petition to all Latin governments Member of the IWC.
2009-November-18
A Tale Of Two Meetings
Two important meetings are taking place this winter; both with significant implications for whales.
2009-November-10
The Politics Of Whaling Verses Food Safety
Back in the mid 1990s, WDCS was looking at how we could help move the whaling debate forward and we decided to focus some efforts on the issue of food security.
2009-October-31
South Park And Whaling
It seems that even cartoon characters have something to say about whaling and the Japanese drive hunts.
2009-October-29
Please Help Us Stop Iceland Whaling
WDCS is leading a letter writing campaign by animal welfare and conservation groups who collectively represent millions of European citizens – to put pressure on each member state and the EU Commission itself, to stop Iceland’s whaling.
2009-September-30
Iceland - Stop Whaling Now
Iceland has killed more than 150 whales since May of 2009, including at least 93 endangered fin whales. We urgently need your help to stop this.
2009-September-04
IWC61 - Some Closing Thoughts
WDCS is disappointed that Norwegian and Iceland whaling has not even been addressed at this year's annual meeting of the IWC, as well as no action has been taken to strongly condemn the ongoing trade in whale meat.
2009-June-25
Norway And Japan Prop Up Whaling Industry With Taxpayer Money
The governments of Norway and Japan are using taxpayer money to subsidise their unprofitable whaling industries, according to a first-time analysis of the economics of whaling released today.
2009-June-19
The IWC Blog
The WDCS team reports from the IWC meeting and from around the world as the whaling debate reaches its climax.
2009-June-18
Humpback Whales In The Line Of Fire - Europe To Decide Their Fate
The USA delegation has been trying to bring pressure to bear on the European Union countries to support the Danish application on behalf of Greenland to expand its hunt to include humpback whales.
2009-June-16
Europe: Whale Enemy No.1
With the annual Meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in full swing, European whaling nations provoke the international community with an increase of whaling quotas and granting export permits for whale meat to Japan.
2009-June-09
The USA Must Stand Up For The Integrity Of Aboriginal Whaling
Please help WDCS call on the USA to stand together with its European Allies in opposing Greenland’s expansion of its hunt. The position of the USA will be critical in the coming days and months. Please let the new USA IWC team know that no humpbacks shoul
2009-May-22
Korea Announces Its Future Whaling Intent
Whilst nations gathered in Rome to discuss a potential deal with Japan in an attempt to reduce Japanese so-called ‘scientific whaling’, Korea announced that if such a deal goes forward it would seek a quota and commence commercial whaling.
2009-March-11
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Japan, Deceptions, And The Death Of The Whaling Ban
Evidence that Japan has used misleading and inaccurate information in its attempts to lift the ban on commercial whaling has been released by WDCS. Help us ensure that this evidence means that the IWC will never allow commercial whaling to return
2009-March-01
Iceland Keeps On Whaling
New Iceland government decides to keep whaling.
2009-February-18
WDCS Calls For Rejection Of Whaling Compromise
The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) is calling on all conservation-minded governments to reject the proposal that has been released by the International Whaling Commission (IWC), given that the document will effectively lift the ban on comme
2009-February-03
Norwegian Whale Meat Confiscated
WDCS has received confirmation from officials with the Norwegian Food Safety Authority (Mattilsynet) that they have confiscated 4320 kilos of whale meat that had been sitting in storage in a pet food facility.
2009-February-03
Iceland Announces Unprecedented New Whale Hunt: 150 Fin Whales And 100 Minke Whales
Help us in the fight to save Iceland’s fin and minke whales from the whalers’ harpoons, send an e-protest to Iceland's Prime MInister.
2009-February-03
Whaling Deals
WDCS is increasingly concerned that deals relating to commercial whaling are being made behind closed doors in a special process that the IWC has established.
2009-January-28
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WDCS Appointed ‘Environmental Partner’ Of SEA LIFE
An agreement sealing the partnership between WDCS and SEA LIFE was signed on 16 January 2009 at the dedication of the newest SEALIFE facility in Porto, Portugal.
2009-January-16
Japan’s Whalers Set Sail For Kill In Whale Sanctuary
The Japanese whaling fleet has set sail from the ports of Shimonoseki and Hiroshima imminently, with the aim of killing over a thousand whales for so-called research purposes. WDCS argues that the real reason however isn’t science, but greed.
2008-November-13
The Myth Of 'Whales Eat Fish'
The Whalers are increasing turning to spurious arguments to justify their dying industry. In Iceland, government scientists tasked with supporting whaling are using ecosystem-based management arguments to support their hunts.
2008-May-10
Live Captures
In its search for live dolphins, the aquarium industry is helping to fund brutal hunts in Japan, known as ‘drive hunts’.
2008-February-20
Stop Bloody Whaling
A new threat to the world-wide ban on commercial whaling is looming. For years, Japan, Norway and Iceland have tried to overturn the moratorium on commercial whaling that was imposed by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in 1986.
2008-May-28