Whale & Dolphin Conservancy logo on illustrated banner background

Whale and Dolphin Conservation Every whale and dolphin - safe & free

We are proud to support WDC's fight for the survival of whales and dolphins around the world 

Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) is the leading global charity dedicated to the protection and conservation of whales and dolphins.

We are authorities on whale and dolphin issues, and we are passionate about what we do. We work globally through campaigns, lobbying, advising governments, conservation projects, field research, rescue, education and much more.

Whales and dolphins face huge challenges and WDC is determined to fight for them wherever and whenever we can. Our vision is a world where every whale and dolphin is safe and free.

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The ocean has increasingly become a dangerous place for whales and dolphins. Tragically, they are still hunted in many countries, are severely threatened by plastic pollution and are entangled in fishing gear in their tens of thousands every year.

Over 3,000 whales and dolphins are also currently held in concrete tanks by the captivity industry, away from their families, and forced to perform for ‘human entertainment’. We believe that these intelligent, social, amazing individuals deserve to swim safe and free in their ocean home.

You can help make a difference, right now by choosing to adopt a humpback, orca or dolphin through WDC’s adoption programme. When you adopt a whale or dolphin, you will get a unique insight into their amazing underwater world and learn about the incredible individual you have adopted, whilst knowing you are directly contributing to WDC’s work towards a future where every whale and dolphin is safe and free.

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To find out more about WDC and how you can support our work visit www.whales.org or follow us on social media.

 

WDC is extremely grateful to have the support of Animal Friends who have donated over £50,000 towards WDC’s projects over the past 4 years, including an amazing donation of almost £8k thanks to the votes of WDC supporters and Animal Friends customers.

Animal Friends are incredibly passionate about our work and always finds new and inventive ways to support WDC. They promoted and took part in our annual gaming event ‘Gamers for Orcas’ in 2019 and worked with WDC to educate staff on reducing single use plastics as part of our ‘plastic is #NotWhaleFood’ campaign.

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We focus our expertise and passion on the most important areas where we believe we can make the biggest difference. With your help we’re focusing on the following programmes:

  • Stopping whaling
  • Ending captivity
  • Preventing deaths in nets
  • Creating healthy seas


WDC’s recent successes include:

  • Helping to create the world’s first Beluga Whale Sanctuary in Iceland, in partnership with Sea Life Trust which provides a more natural habitat for two, ex-captive beluga whales – Little White and Little Grey.
  • Successfully campaigning to create the world’s largest marine protected area in the Ross Sea, covering 1.55 million square kilometres of ocean around Antarctica and securing important protection for orca and other species including minke whales.
  • Exposing and stopping the illegal online sales of whale meat in Japan.
  • Producing an App for collecting sightings data on endangered Hector’s dolphins and critically endangered Maui dolphins in New Zealand. They are declining due to bycatch in static gear and trawls. The data is helping us identify the areas needed to protect them.