The Whale Sanctuary Blog

Whale Jail: From Global Outcry to International Cooperation

What began as a global outcry has evolved into a work of international cooperation. Yesterday, in Moscow, people of many ...

Posted April 5, 2019 in News

Press Conference in Moscow – Full Video

Two videos from today’s news conference with the Whale Sanctuary Project at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in ...

Posted April 4, 2019 in News

Whale Aid – Russia: News Release

The Whale Sanctuary Project issued the following news release this morning: WHALE AID – RUSSIA! Russia invites Whale Sanctuary Project ...

Posted April 4, 2019 in For the Media

Russia Invites Whale Sanctuary Project to Visit Whale Jail

The Russian government has invited the Whale Sanctuary Project to visit the illegal “whale jail” on Russia’s Far East coast, ...

Posted April 2, 2019 in News

Russia Issues Formal Invitation to Visit “Whale Jail”

The Whale Sanctuary Project has brought together a team of experts, led by oceanographer Jean-Michel Cousteau, to visit the notorious ...

Posted March 29, 2019 in For the Media, News

Expert Team Prepares to Visit Notorious “Whale Jail”

The Whale Sanctuary Project is organizing a team of experts from non-profits and other NGO’s to go to Srednyaya Bay ...

Posted March 19, 2019 in For the Media, News

The Whale Jail in Srednyaya Bay

The Whale Sanctuary Project is organizing a team of experts to go to Russia and assess the condition of 10 ...

Posted March 19, 2019 in News

Jean-Michel Cousteau Pens a Letter to President Putin

The four signatories spearheaded the return of the orca Keiko to his home waters in the 1990s. They offer the ...

Posted March 19, 2019 in News

34 Marine Mammal Biologists Urge Release of Whales

Donate now to help the whales A group of prominent marine mammal scientists from around the world has written a ...

Posted March 19, 2019 in News

Global Citizens Urge Release of “Whale Jail” Orcas & Belugas

A group of prominent global citizens signed a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin encouraging the government to release 10 ...

Posted March 19, 2019 in News

The Case Against Keeping Whales & Dolphins Captive

In their report “The Case Against Marine Mammals in Captivity,” Naomi Rose and Chris Parsons lay out in plain English ...

Posted March 14, 2019 in News

“Enthusiasm Abounds” at Nova Scotia Meetings

In Nova Scotia, people are forming local committees to explore how they can collaborate with the Whale Sanctuary Project and ...

Posted March 2, 2019 in News

Dolphinaris Closes – What’s Next For the Dolphins?

In the two years since the grand opening of Dolphinaris Arizona, half of its eight dolphins have met untimely deaths. ...

Posted February 28, 2019 in News

Groups Prepare for Wild Orca Medical Assessment

The Whale Sanctuary Project is working as part of a coalition of experts in the Pacific Northwest to assess the ...

Posted February 19, 2019 in News

News Conference & Public Meetings in Nova Scotia

“We believe there is the perfect community that shares our vision," Charles Vinick told reporters at Whale Sanctuary Project news ...

Posted January 29, 2019 in News

News Release in Nova Scotia

The Whale Sanctuary Project is holding a series of public information meetings over the next 10 days to identify communities ...

Posted January 29, 2019 in For the Media, News

Extinction – What if They Know?

Because of orcas’ close family bonds, their complex intelligence and their advanced level of self and situational awareness, the Southern ...

Posted January 8, 2019 in News

Judge Issues First-Ever Habeas Corpus Order for an Elephant

A New York State judge has issued a "habeas corpus" writ on behalf of Happy, an elephant at the Bronx ...

Posted December 10, 2018 in News

Canadian Bill S-203 Passes in Senate. Now Goes to House.

It took almost three years, 17 hearings, 40 witnesses (including six experts from the Whale Sanctuary Project), and countless attempts ...

Posted October 24, 2018 in News

Location, Location, Location!

The three main considerations that go into evaluating a possible site for a seaside sanctuary for whales. In a very ...

Posted October 15, 2018 in News

The World’s Most Intelligent Species?

We’ve known for a long time that whales and dolphins are intelligent and socially complex animals with large brains that ...

Posted October 15, 2018 in Learn More, News

SeaWorld’s New “Education” Tour

If you’ve checked out the “Deeper Dive” section of this website, you already know about the routine claims of marine ...

Posted October 1, 2018 in News

When Captive Belugas Give Birth

At the Shedd Aquarium, the beluga Mauyak is pregnant. We all hope her calf is born healthy and lives beyond ...

Posted September 23, 2018 in News, Opinion

This Is What Extinction Looks Like

I am in an airport on my way home from the San Juan Islands, Washington. I was there to attend ...

Posted September 17, 2018 in News, Opinion

In the Wake of Scarlet

We couldn’t save Scarlet, but the effort was worthwhile. Sooner or later there will be another Southern Resident orca in ...

Posted September 17, 2018 in For the Media, News

Statement re. Future Treatment of Scarlet

This morning, the Whale Sanctuary Project issued the following statement regarding future treatment of the orca Scarlet/J-50:

Posted September 6, 2018 in For the Media, News

Updates on the “J” Pod Orcas

The Whale Sanctuary Project has joined an emergency effort to save the life of the orca J-50 (aka Scarlett). The ...

Posted September 6, 2018 in News

Sea Life Trust Is Building the World’s First Beluga Sanctuary

By this time next year, the Sea Life Trust expects to have opened the world’s first seaside sanctuary for formerly ...

Posted August 30, 2018 in News

Dio the Dog Goes Sniffing for Whale Poop

Dio is an ace sniffer dog, and his role is to direct the research vessel to where his colleagues can ...

Posted August 17, 2018 in News

Whale Sanctuary Project Joins Rescue Effort for Orca J-50

The Whale Sanctuary Project has joined an emergency effort in the Pacific Northwest to try to save the life of ...

Posted August 7, 2018 in News

A Mother Orca’s Grief – in the Ocean and in Captivity

We have all been transfixed by the scene of the mother orca Tahlequah carrying her dead infant in a display ...

Posted August 3, 2018 in News, Opinion

Q&A with Dr. Lori Marino

How will a whale adapt to the wide-open space of a sanctuary after years in a concrete tank? Lori Marino ...

Posted July 11, 2018 in Learn More, News

If Bill S-203 Dies, Will Reincarnation Follow?

Canada’s Bill S-203 ­– to end the captivity of whales and dolphins – was deprived of a final vote as ...

Posted June 29, 2018 in News

More Dolphin Deaths at Zoos and Theme Parks

The deaths of Maxine at the Brookfield Zoo and Alia at Dolphinaris raise the question, yet again, of whether these ...

Posted June 25, 2018 in News, Opinion

Senator Christmas’s Poignant Speech to End Cetacean Captivity in Canada

Sen. Daniel Christmas addresses the Canadian Senate on behalf of S-203 – the Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins ...

Posted June 15, 2018 in News

Sen. Sinclair’s Powerful Speech to End Cetacean Captivity in Canada

Senator Murray Sinclair of Manitoba addresses his colleagues on behalf of S-203 – the Ending the Captivity of Whales and ...

Posted June 1, 2018 in News