With Humpbacks’ Return to Pacific Ocean, In Defense of Animals Urges Greater Worldwide Marine Mammal Conservation Efforts

International Animal Protection Organization Urges Public to Help Protect Endangered Marine Mammals

San Rafael, Calif.—Two weeks after a pair of humpback whales wandered into the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, it is believed that the lost mother and her calf have finally made their way back to the Pacific Ocean. While scientists made a gallant – and ultimately successful – effort to help these two cetaceans, whales and other marine mammals continue to be exploited and killed around the world. International animal protection organization In Defense of Animals (IDA) is therefore urging people who support whale conservation to join them in opposing the abuse of these magnificent creatures. Those who wish to join IDA in protecting whales and other marine mammals from harm can find out what they can do at IDA’s campaign website, www.idausa.org/campaigns/marine/marine.html.

Here are just a few of the dangers posed to whales and other marine mammal species, many of whom are endangered and threatened with extinction:

  • Even though an official moratorium on whale hunting has been firmly in place since 1986, countries such as Japan, South Korea, Iceland, and Norway have used a loophole in the law – a clause that allows for "scientific whaling" – to kill more than 25,000 whales over the last two decades, then sell their meat for human consumption. By offering major financial aid incentives to poor nations on the International Whaling Commission for voting in favor of commercial whaling, Japan is actively trying to get the 75% majority vote they need to overturn the whaling ban.

  • Since 2000, dozens of whales have fatally or near-fatally stranded themselves on beaches in the U.S., the Bahamas, the Canary Islands, and Japan due to Navy sonar mid-frequency tests that flood vast areas of the ocean with deafening noise, which is extremely harmful – and potentially lethal – to many marine species. The Navy, which conducts the tests to search for enemy submarines, recently ignored the California Coastal Commission's mitigation recommendations to protect whales and other marine life from ear-shattering military sonar during war games off the West Coast.

  • Every year between October and March, Japanese fishermen brutally round up over 20,000 dolphins, porpoises and whales. Driving them into coves and then sealing off the exits with giant nets, the fishermen slaughter most of the animals and sell their meat, but spare a few choice victims for sale to marine parks, where they are forced into a lifetime of performing tricks for visitors. Orcas (killer whales) are also captured and pressed into service at marine parks throughout the world. Whales and dolphins swim 40-100 miles a day in the open sea, making life in captivity one of severe deprivation, and many die prematurely from the strain.

The two lost cetaceans’ visit to the Bay Area made quite a splash, fueled by comprehensive media coverage of marine biologists’ efforts to steer them back home. “We’re so pleased that a great many people expressed deep concern for the safety and survival of these ambassadors from the deep, indicating an awakened interest in the conservation of clearly intelligent marine mammal species, and the need for greater attention to this issue,” said Elliot M. Katz, DVM, IDA President. “We hope the same people will join us to focus their energy on helping exploited and abused marine mammals around the world.”