Pilot Whales: Top news
Pilot whales are intelligent dolphins swimming off the coast of Taiji, Japan, but to the dolphin hunters, they are just so much meat to sell -- meat contaminated with mercury, not fit for human consumption. Kunito Seko caught the tragedy on film.
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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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Now that the SWIMS Act has been introduced into Congress, we need your help to ensure its passage. Check out ways you can help end captivity for small whales.
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Orcas, pilot whales, belugas, and false killer whales do poorly in captivity, in poor health and often stressed. The SWIMS Act, introduced today in Congress, will change that.
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Progress is being made shutting down dolphinariums around the world, but too many dolphins and whales remain in concrete coffins, entertaining us and generating obscene profits for facilities that hold these special and fragile animals.
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A recent analysis by scientists, adopted by the IWC Scientific Committee, shows what many opponents of the Taiji dolphin hunts have feared -- the hunts are depleting several dolphin species along the coast of Japan, leading the dolphin hunters to go after other species, while still killing the depleted species.
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Sometimes whales and dolphins don't stay in the ocean, but come up on shore. Why do they do this, as individuals and sometimes as whole pods of animals? There are many reasons, but too often such strandings end in tragedy.
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We again tested dolphin and whale meat bought in Taiji in stores for human consumption. All but one specimen had mercury levels well above Japan's own rules for safety. Even minke whale meat had too much poisonous mercury. PCBs were also found.
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A pod of pilot whales and a pod of Risso's dolphins are now dead, having been slaughtered in just the first week of the notorious Taiji dolphin hunting season last week. The captures, often resulting in a lifetime of dolphin misery in captivity, and slaughter for meat will continue for another six months. WARNING: Graphic Photos.
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New legislation introduced into Congress would phase out the captivity of orcas, beluga whales, pilot whales, and false killer whales, all species that do poorly in small concrete tanks. If passed the SWIMS Act would prohibit breeding in captivity, importing and exporting these species, with an exception for moving the animals to seaside sanctuaries.
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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 >