Last-minute bid to stop Shell’s oil exploration in whale breeding grounds in South Africa

Last-minute bid to stop Shell’s oil exploration in whale breeding grounds in South Africa

An 11th hour bid has been launched to try to halt plans by Royal Dutch Shell to explore for oil in vital whale breeding grounds along the Wild Coast of eastern South Africa.

Campaigners filed an urgent legal challenge against the seismic survey, which was scheduled to begin on Wednesday, in a last-ditch bid to prevent it harming whales, dolphins and seals in the relatively untouched marine environment.

The challenge brought by four environmental and human rights organisations will be heard in court on Wednesday afternoon.