Killing Whales by Design and Default
devastating effects of entanglement on these animals. The chronic nature of entanglement leads to a long, slow, and painful death. It’s important to make this part of our discussion about the conservation of these species,” said Katie Moore, Director of Animal Rescue for the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). “We have a responsibility to the species we chose to protect when the Marine Mammal Protection Act and Endangered Species Act were enacted in the early 1970s. We need to do a better job of minimizing and ultimately eliminating opportunities for entanglement. There
Whales Beat Ship Strike Rule Deadline
certain locations and at certain times of the year along the east coast of the United States. "We applaud the Department of Commerce's action – there is no doubt the ship strike rule has worked to conserve the ocean's few remaining right whales," said Margaret Cooney, International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) Campaigns Officer. "The reason is simple -- when ships slow down, the risk to whales is drastically reduced. Any adjustments to weaken the rule would heighten the risk of pushing the species to extinction." Scientific research shows that when ships