News & Insights
- All
- Insights
- News
Do whales have their own culture?
Did you know that whales and dolphins have cultures too? Whether they’re sharing whale song or teaching their calves to forage using tools, the knowledge that’s passed between individuals and generations can be critical to their survival. By learning from others, unique cultures can develop.
We’ve been working with researchers from all over the world for over a decade exploring culture in non-human animals. Thanks to your support, our research is finally making waves in global conservation.
Why are orcas offering their food to humans?
Experts remain baffled as to why wild orcas have been offering food to humans. The behaviour has been witnessed by researchers on over 30 occasions according to a new study, but it is not yet clear why the orcas are doing it. Orcas have been known to share food amongst themselves but during these fascinating…
Mexico bans captive whale and dolphin shows
Mexico is to ban dolphin and other marine mammal shows. The unanimous decision by the country’s senate is great news for our ongoing campaign to raise awareness of the cruel captivity industry and follows public pressure in recent years over welfare violations at some marine parks in Mexico. The new General Wildlife Law will prohibit…
How to remove ghost gear?
Ghost gear – lost and abandoned fishing gear drifting at sea – is killing whales and dolphins in the most horrific ways. But we’re taking action to stop it.
Thanks to your incredible support, we funded Ghost Fishing UK to head out into the ocean and pull this deadly gear from UK seas before it harms more wildlife. While we wait to hear the results of their retrieval missions, Dr. Phoebe Hudson is here to share what a day in the life as a volunteer diver with Ghost Fishing UK is really like.
Last Amazon River dolphin held captive has died
The last captive Amazon River dolphin has died after suffering cardiac arrest. Huayrurín, was held at the Zoologico Quistococha tourist facility in Peru and was 19 years old. He had spent nearly all his life in captivity after being rescued in 2007 aged just six months when his mother was trapped in a fishing net…
Another orca dies at SeaWorld
A young orca has died at SeaWorld San Antonio after contracting an illness say the park’s owners. Kamea, who was 11 years old and the youngest held captive at the facility leaves behind her mother 33-year-old Takara, and her sister, Sakari, 15. Two other male orcas also remain at the park. Captive orcas live much…
Success! No whale hunting in Iceland at all this year
The only operational minke whale hunting vessel in Iceland has been put up for sale by its owner, which means there will be no minke whales slaughtered this year. Part of our long running campaign to stop these hunts has been centered on changing attitudes to eating whale meat, driving down demand and making operations…
Orcas and trainers put at risk in Japanese Seaworld parks
WDC is calling for the operators of marine park facilities in Japan to stop prioritising commercial interests over the welfare of orcas and staff after increasing numbers of videos circulating on social media have exposed alarming conditions at the Kobe Suma and Kamogawa parks, significant safety risk to trainers, and abnormal behaviour patterns from the…
New investigation – Yahoo! Japan selling toxic whale meat
WDC has joined an international coalition of environmental groups is calling on Yahoo! Japan and its parent company, the LY Corporation, to stop selling products containing whale and dolphin meat after a new investigation found high levels of toxins in some of the nearly 1,000 related food items available for purchase on the massive search…
