Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) is a wildlife charity and environmental organization that dedicates itself to "conservation and welfare of all whales, dolphins and porpoises."

The stated aims of Society are:

To reduce, and ultimately, eliminate the continuing threats to cetaceans and their habitats.

To raise awareness of cetaceans and educate people about the need to address the continuing threats to their welfare and survival.

To prevent suffering in individual whales, dolphins and porpoises, whether in their natural environment or in captivity.

To stop the deliberate killing of whales and dolphins for commercial and so-called 'scientific' purposes.

To stop the unnecessary deaths of cetaceans from man-made threats such as pollution or entanglement in fishing nets.

To prevent the extinction of endangered species and promote the recovery of all cetacean populations.

To secure adequate protection for - and maintain the health of - all cetacean habitats.

To promote a worldwide interest in cetaceans

(Fair use quote from the WDCS website).

These aims bring the WDCS into seemingly irreconcilable dispute with pro-whaling nations and organisations such as the High North Alliance. The WDCS is frequently critical of them (and them of it) and organises campaigns against whaling.

The WDCS is primarily a UK operation but has offices in the USA, Germany and Australia and also carries out projects in Asia and the Americas. The charity was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Chippenham in Wiltshire. Its most significant physical presence is its Moray Firth Wildlife Centre in Spey Bay on the Moray Firth in Scotland.

The Society has a travel wing - out of the blue holidays, a eco-tourism company that packages whale watching trips around the world. Formally speaking the two entities are separate as the WDCS is a non-commercial charity whereas out of the blue is a commercial entity that gives profits to the WDCS.

[edit] Actual issues

[edit] 2007: (International) Year of the Dolphin

The year 2007 has been declared as (International) Year of the Dolphin - (http://www.yod2007.org) by the United Nations and UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme).

The UN Convention on Migratory Species, together with its specialized agreements on dolphin conservation ACCOBAMS and ASCOBANS and the WDCS (Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society) have proposed 2007 as the Year of the Dolphin ('YOD'))
(International) Patron of the Year of the Dolphin is H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco.