Authorities
in Russia have ordered the release of up to one hundred whales being kept in
‘whale jails’ by companies known for their illegal capture and selling of the
animals.
Environmental
organisations, with the help of high-profile activists like Leonardo DiCaprio
and Pamela Anderson, have spent months campaigning for the release of the
whales, which were kept in cramped pools near the Pacific port city of
Nakhodka, in the far east of Russia.
The
country’s federal security service, the FSB, have now announced charges against
the companies operating the so-called ‘whale jails’. In the past, the companies
have been fined for the illegal capture of the whales, and have a history of
selling the animals to amusement parks.
The FSB
appear to be following president Vladimir Putin’s wishes, as a spokesperson for
the president revealed he was concerned by the companies’ actions, and wanted
to free the whales, the Independent reports.
The FSB
reportedly said the animals were kept in ‘unsatisfactory conditions, and must
be released into their natural habitat’.
According to
a Change.org petition, there were 11 orcas, five baby walrus, and 90 beluga
whales being held in the ‘whale jails’, and were apparently intended to be sold
to ‘aquariums and Chinese buyers’.
Dmitry
Kobylkin, Russia’s ecology minister, told the TASS news agency:
''We are
doing everything we can. No one objects to releasing the orcas, but the most
important thing is to release them properly.''
Conservation
group Greenpeace, along with their celebrity activists, had previously launched
a global campaign to highlight the cruel treatment of the whales, and fought to
bring an end to the practice, likening it to torture.
The cramped,
confined areas the whales were kept in only measured about 10 metre square,
whereas in the wild, orcas will travel up to 100 miles a day.
All the
whales were kept in the same location, though four linked companies appeared to
be running the facility.
In 2017, one
of the companies reportedly tried to sue Russia’s Federal Fishing Agency when
it refused to issue a quota for capturing whales. The lawsuit was unsuccessful,
while the ruling also revealed the company had a contract with another company
in China to supply whales for ‘educational purposes’.
Authorities
are now working to release these animals from their cramped ‘jails’ and back
into the wild, while also deciding on the action to take against the people
responsible.
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