WASHINGTON (May 15, 2024)— A number of orcas have sunk a sailing yacht in Moroccan waters in the straight of Gibraltar. Experts are unsure the amount of whales to have attacked the ship. The numbers of ships lost to this reason has increased in the past four years. Reuters reports, “according to the research group GTOA, which tracks populations of the Iberian orca sub-species, there have been nearly 700 interactions since orca attacks on ships in the region were first reported in May 2020.”
For more context on the matter, please consider Katherine Hessler, Assistant Dean for Animal Law at the George Washington University Law School. Dean Hessler has been a clinical law professor for 30 years, 22 of which has been teaching animal law. Hessler is the inaugural dean of animal law at the George Washington University Law School, and has helped to develop and found Animal Law Studies and curriculum at a variety of schools and centers. In addition, Dean Hessler was the chair of the Animal Law Section and the Balance in Legal Education Sections of the American Association of Law Schools.
Hessler can discuss climate change, reduced numbers of animals in the sea, animal welfare, the science of orca cognition and sentience and more.
If you wish to speak with Dean Katherine Hessler, please contact Media Relations Specialist Shannon Mitchell at [email protected].
-GW-