Eclipsed by solar eclipse, European Union negotiations, mink farm release, and even Reykjavik traffic REYKJAVIK, Iceland; PARIS, France––Paul Watson, 75, founder of the Paul Watson Foundation in 2022 after getting the boot from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society he founded in 1977, is counting on global publicity and outrage over the resumption of Icelandic whaling to […]
Icelandic “Ahab” Kristján Loftsson resumes vengeful quest to kill whales
Activists sank his battleships 40 years ago REYKJAVIK, Iceland––Kristján Loftsson, 84, chief executive of Hvalur, the last Icelandic whaling company, driven by an enduring thirst for vengeance against anti-whaling activists, on June 19, 2026 sent the last two whaling trawlers in Iceland out into the North Atlantic Ocean to kill a quota of as many as […]
Some Nordic people rally to save one whale; others rush to kill hundreds
Timmy the stranded but rescued humpback whale lived after release for about ten days BERLIN, Germany; WASHINGTON D.C.; OSLO, Norway; REYKJAVIK, Iceland––Contrasting and conflicting Nordic attitudes toward whales may never before have been more starkly evident than during the six-week drama preceding the May 2, 2026 return to the North Sea of Timmy the formerly […]
Glue traps: the La Brea Tar Pits in your closet
Members of Congress Ted Lieu & Adam Schiff attempt a rescue, but for the moment, mineral oil might help more than legislation WASHINGTON D.C.––Children and even many adults who visit or even see the La Brea Tar Pits in Hancock Park, Los Angeles, notoriously often awaken screaming from nightmares for weeks and even months afterward. […]
Belugas left behind after South Korea bans whale & dolphin captures
Phase-out of marine mammal exhibition appears to be underway SEOUL, South Korea––“Marine mammals are now prohibited from being used for exhibition purposes as well as programs that involve riding or feeding marine mammals,” effective immediately, the South Korean Ministry of Oceans & Fisheries announced on December 14, 2023. “Starting today,” the announcement continued, “aquariums in […]
Icelandic whalers kept in port by women who chain selves to masts
Anahita Babaei and Elissa Biou held out through cold night, Babaei without food or water, but surrendered after 33 hours REYKJAVIK, Iceland––Slipping aboard the Icelandic whaling vessels Hvalur 8 and Hvalur 9 at approximately 5:00 a.m. on September 4, 2023, anti-whaling activists Anahita Babaei and Elissa Biou climbed the masts of each ship and chained themselves into the […]
Iceland whaling halt upstages Ric O’Barry appeal for Russian beluga
Paul Watson & crew wait near Iceland to see if fisheries minister sticks to her guns against last whaling baron Kristján Loftsson NORWEGIAN SEA––Ric O’Barry, 83, on June 20, 2023 issued an urgent appeal on behalf of Hvaldimir, possibly the most famous of all beluga whales. But Paul Watson, 72, again upstaged O’Barry, as he […]
Black humane history found in great-grandpa’s attic near a town called Ark
Letters and a map document humane & racial justice movements that pointed the way for Martin Luther King Jr. ARK, Virginia––Bus driver Alan Lemon, then 59, hoped to find antiques that might be sold online in 2018 when he and a friend decided to explore the attic of his great grandfather John W. Lemon’s long […]
Iceland fisheries minister hints she may pull the plug on whaling
But whaling baron Kristján Loftsson, 80, will not go down without a fight REYKJAVIK, Iceland––Iceland minister of food, agriculture, and fisheries Svandis Svavarsdottir on February 4, 2022 indicated in a guest column for the newspaper and news web site Morgunblaðið that she may pull the plug on the nearly moribund Icelandic whaling industry. But Kristján Loftsson, […]
Marine mammal activist Ben White, 53, dies of abdominal cancer
Long problematic career Ben White, 53, died on July 30, 2005, in Friday Harbor, Washington, after a six-month struggle against abdominal cancer. White “cut open dolphin-holding nets in Japan, scaled buildings to hang anti-fur banners, jumped in front of naval ships in Hawaii to stop sonar tests, and slept atop old-growth trees to protest logging,” […]