A mother sperm whale attempted to free her baby from a fishing net in Italy’s Tyrrhenian Sea, and both whales died.
Marevivo, an Italian environmental group, reported that the Italian coast guard was first on the scene after the whales were spotted. The nearly 20-foot mother was found with fishing net in her mouth, while the baby was completely tangled in the netting, leading the coast guard to believe that the mother whale died trying to save her baby.
Marevivo’s president, Rosalba Giugni, stated:
The death of these two giants of the sea is a loss for our natural heritage, but knowing that what happened is our fault makes it even more tragic. Changing our behavior is not enough. We need to change our beliefs in order to understand and to actually feel that when we harm the environment, we do it to ourselves.
While this story is absolutely heartbreaking, it is not unique. Human consumption of aquatic animals is destroying our oceans and taking trillions of innocent lives. In fact, the fishing industry is responsible for the deaths of countless sharks, whales, dolphins, sea turtles, and porpoises.
Video footage released by Mercy For Animals, SeaLegacy, Sharkwater, and Turtle Island Restoration Network exposes how marine animals—including dolphins, sea lions, and seabirds—are routinely trapped and killed in the commercial fishing industry’s driftnets. Investigators documented animals being cut apart, pierced with hooks, caught in nets, and left to suffocate aboard driftnet fishing boats off the coast of California.
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