Maui’s dolphins live only in New Zealand and are the smallest and rarest marine dolphin species on earth. Fishing with gill nets and trawling has driven them to the very edge of extinction. There are now just around 50 Maui’s dolphins left, down from an estimated 1,800 forty years ago. Because there are so few individuals left, the species can only cope with a single fatality as a result of human activities every 10-23 years. Yet these fishing methods kill an estimated five Maui's dolphins each year. The last survivors need to be protected now before it’s too late and here is your chance to help make that happen.

The world’s leading independent scientists, including those from the International Whaling Commission, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and the Society for Marine Mammalogy agree that harmful fishing methods must be banned across the dolphins’ range if the species is to have any chance of bouncing back. But the New Zealand government is ignoring these urgent recommendations. Instead, the government’s proposed plans provide a piecemeal approach to their protection, which is out of step with what is required to facilitate recovery. But Maui’s dolphins can’t hang on much longer. They need full protection, and they need it now.

Please join us to let New Zealand know that the world cares and won’t accept their wilful extinction!

You can view the text of the petition below.

To find out more visit www.hectorsdolphins.com or join us on facebook to stay in touch with this urgent campaign: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hectorsandmauissos

Thank you for your support for these animals who are in so much trouble. This is our last chance to save them!