Dolphin and Whale Trade: Top news
What is it like being a student intern at the International Marine Mammal Project? An internship can be life-changing for a student. Our intern Jillian talks about her experience with IMMP.
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A pod of pilot whales was decimated in the notorious Cove in Taiji, Japan, last week. Activist and photographer Kunito Seko was on hand to photograph it and report on it. It is unusual for so many to be killed this late, but the Japan Fisheries Agency goes out of its way to allow slaughter and captures of dolphins for a miserable life in captivity.
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Marineland, based in Niagara Falls, Canada, is closing at last -- something to cheer about. But 31 beluga whales are still there in tanks. The International Marine Mammal Project joined 28 of our colleagues asking the Canadian government to send the belugas to seaside sanctuaries, where they will be cared for, but need no longer perform tricks or be forced bred.
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The saga of poor Wikie and Keijo goes on -- now the Spanish government has rejected importing Wikie and Keijo, the last two orcas held in captivity in France, from being sent to Loro Parque Zoo, a horrible facility for orcas. Where will Wikie and Keijo go now? A seaside sanctuary is the ideal solution.
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Like most cetaceans, beluga whales do poorly in captivity. Many are now kept in aquariums around the world -- some get stranded once the aquarium or park goes broke and shuts down. Learn about the beluga whale, and why it is a bad idea to keep them in small concrete tanks.
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Our new video illustrates the recent Taiji dolphin hunt season (Sept. 1st, 2024 to Feb. 28th, 2025), where hundreds of dolphins were slaughtered (albeit at a lower level than last season) and 92 wild dolphins were captured for sale to aquariums around the world. IMMP continues our Save Japan Dolphins campaign to end the hunts permanently.
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Japan's outrageous dolphin slaughter in Taiji, subsidized by aquariums who buy live wild dolphins for their shows, came to an end for the season with 92 dolphins captured for captivity and 298 dolphins slaughtered for meat. Another bloody end, with the next season set to begin on Sept. 1st, 2025. Japan doesn't need the meat or the exploitive entertainment.
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Our colleagues at the Animal Welfare Institute in DC have written a new edition of the definitive guide to why whales and dolphins do not belong in captivity. The wide-ranging research covers all aspects of captivity and is a boon to activists concerned with keeping whales and dolphins in small concrete tanks.
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IMMP's campaign to transfer the French captive orcas Wikie and Keijo to the Whale Sanctuary Project's sanctuary in Nova Scotia is not over! Read our Q&A about what is happening in France, and take action by signing our petition.
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People Magazine interviews David Phillips, Executive Director of IMMP and a leader in the effort to retire two captive orcas, Wikie and her son Keijo, now stranded in an aquarium in France. The Whale Sanctuary Project is building a new seaside sanctuary in Nova Scotia that can house Wikie and Keijo for life. No more performing shows over and over again, just to be fed.
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Campaign Top News
- International Marine Mammal Project >
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From pushing for sanctuaries for Wikie & Keijo and 30 beluga whales, to opposing attempts to gut the Endangered Species and Marine Mammal Protection Acts, to protecting wetlands in the Barataria basin, the International Marine Mammal Project has accomplished a great deal in 2025 for whales and dolphins.
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What is it like being a student intern at the International Marine Mammal Project? An internship can be life-changing for a student. Our intern Jillian talks about her experience with IMMP.
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From battling the whaling industry in Japan and Iceland, to exposing the continued slaughter of dolphins in Taiji, Japan, to saving the lives of tens of thousands of dolphins annually through Dolphin Safe tuna, the International Marine Mammal Project has accomplished a lot in 2024.
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- Save Japan Dolphins >
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The Taiji dolphin drive hunts have again ended, killing hundreds of dolphins for meat after removing "show quality" animals for a miserable life in captivity. Numbers were slightly higher this year for slaughter, although historically low compared to recent years.
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Three species of dolphins have been captured and slaughtered over the past month as the bloody Taiji dolphin drive hunts continue. Most of the dolphins you see in these photos are now dead. The hunts end on March 1st, but six months later, they will begin again.
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A former dolphin trainer explains the damage done by dolphin and small whale captures in Taiji, Japan. Learn the facts about how the aquarium industry sources wild dolphins for a lifetime of misery in small concrete tanks.
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- Dolphin + Whale Project >
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With only 380 individual whales remaining, the North Atlantic right whale population will decline if the killing of whales continues. Here's the story of two right whales, Division and Porcia's calf, both victims of our modern society, too much in a hurry.
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Congress is considering passing HR 1897, legislation to comprehensively gut the federal Endangered Species Act, our most important wildlife law. You can help by urging your members of the House to vote NO on HR 1897.
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In 2024, 95 large whales were reported entangled during the year. As many as 10 to 20 times as many whales may have been entangled and sunk, never to be recorded. Here is the story of these tragic entanglements in plastic fishing gear.
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- Keiko Whale Rescue >
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Like most cetaceans, beluga whales do poorly in captivity. Many are now kept in aquariums around the world -- some get stranded once the aquarium or park goes broke and shuts down. Learn about the beluga whale, and why it is a bad idea to keep them in small concrete tanks.
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We are deeply saddened at the death of orca whale Tokitae. Calls for her release were denied for decades and it’s shameful that she never got a chance to go home.
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30 years ago, the movie "Free Willy" was a huge hit. The plight of its orca star, Keiko, touched the public along with the moving story. Read how the International Marine Mammal Project took that spark of concern and returned Keiko to his home waters. SeaWorld and other captive dolphin parks would never be the same!
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- Dolphin Safe Fishing >
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Every year, we estimate that the Dolphin Safe label on tuna cans saves the lives of 90,000 dolphins annually in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean, and many more in other oceans of the world. You, as a consumer, should know how the Dolphin Safe label works to protect dolphins in global tuna fisheries.
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A new Marine Mammal Protection Act has been proposed for the Philippines, with strong support from our IMMP Philippines office, with the support of Representative Co. Read about this new legislation to protect endangered species like the Irrawaddy dolphin and other Filipino whales and dolphins.
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Trixie Concepcion heads up our active office for dolphins in the Philippines. A major tuna fishing nation, plus an island nation with many local cetaceans, provides opportunities for Trixie and her staff to tackle major environmental issues in that country and the Western Pacific Ocean.
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- Freeing Orca Whales from Captivity >
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The orcas Wikie and her son Keijo are still trapped in Marineland in France. Marineland wants the orcas to go to Loro Parque Zoo, an aquarium in Spain with one of the worst records of captive orca deaths. IMMP is urging the French government to instead retire Wikie and Keijo to a seaside sanctuary in Nova Scotia.
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Captivity in small concrete aquarium tanks is hard and often fatal for whales and dolphins. Dr. Lori Marino and her colleagues have laid out the issues for cetaceans in captivity in a new scientific article, building a powerful scientific case for ending captivity for whales and dolphins.
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Four captive orcas died in their concrete tanks in 2025, never to see or feel the ocean ever again. This tragic death march will continue until all captive cetaceans are retired to seaside sanctuaries. Learn about Katina, Kshamenk, Earth, and Kamea -- all dead.
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- Freeing Wikie & Keijo >