This is great news for animal advocates, and of course for the animals themselves: Russia by court order has permanently closed a set of cetacean captive ponds on the country’s Pacific coast. Denounced in 2019, the deplorable situation of mammals had moved. President Putin ordered their release.
Belugas, orcas weighing several tons. In total, up to a hundred cetaceans have been crammed into these tiny floating ponds in the port of Nakhodka, with the aim of being sold to amusement parks, mainly in China. But it’s over.
To prevent the illegal captivity of marine animals, as explained in the press release from the regional prosecutor’s office, the structures are now being dismantled. All the animals were released.
The operation began in 2019. Supervised by French oceanographer Jean-Michel Cousteau, it took many months. It was first necessary to take care of the cetaceans, many of which had suffered from their conditions of captivity, then to load them on board ships to take them back to their natural habitat, in the Sea of Japan. And acclimatize the little calves to an almost unknown environment.
Legislation to change
The operation was a success, according to scientists who are delighted with the closure of the floating prison. A decision that was long overdue, according to Dmitri Lissitsine, director of the NGO Sakhakin Watch.
Russia has promised to change its legislation. It is indeed the only country in the world to allow the capture and sale of cetaceans for entertainment purposes.
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