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Captive Orcas and Belugas to be Released from Russian 'Whale Jail'
Captive Orcas and Belugas to be Released from Russian 'Whale Jail'
Jan 17, 2024 3:44 PM

At a Glance

The 10 orcas and 87 belugas have been in captivity since November.Video of the whales held in pens surrounded by ice sparked international outrage.It's not clear how soon the whales might be released, pending rehabilitation.

The Russian government and two environmental groups have come to to eventually release 10 orca and 87 beluga whales that have been held for months in cramped pens surrounded by ice in Srednyaya Bay on Russia’s far east coast.

The Whale Sanctuary Project announced on their website, along with excerpts from a weekend held by Russian Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Dmitri Kobylkin and marine activists Charles Vinick and Jean-Michel Cousteau.

When video of emerged in November and prompted international outcry, the term "whale jail" became a rallying cry for environmentalists and others concerned with the whales' plight. As of today, nearly 1.5 million people had signed a Change.org petition calling for the whales' release.

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The whales, many of them babies, last summer by hunters who planned to sell them to aquariums and amusement parks, according to several media reports.

Vinick and Cousteau had traveled to Russia to lobby for the whales' release. While they were able to secure a pledge from Russian officials that it would happen, it's not clear when or how the whales will leave their icy, cramped enclosures.

"(We) are working together to come up with answers and solutions to see what we can do with releasing them or taking them into rehabilitation," Cousteau said in a video posted to Twitter today.

Speaking at the press conference, Vinick said the process would not be easy.

“Each of the animals is an individual and has to be treated as an individual," he said. "In Srednyaya Bay, the challenge for rehabilitation and release is complex. And therefore we need to work together to identify a strategy for rehabilitation and for reintroduction or release of as many of those animals, one by one, as is possible.”

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There were originally 11 orcas, also known as killer whales, and 90 belugas being held in the pens. But one orca and three belugas have the BBC reported, and environmentalists suspect that they died.

Whales are in in China, where more than 60 marine parks are already operating and more are planned, according to a report published by the Canadian Broadcasting Company. Orcas reportedly sell for up to $5 million each.

Both and are under stress from several environmental factors, including pollution, declining food supply and habitat degradation.

Cousteau told reporters that he and his fellow scientists would do all they could to save the animals, CBC reported.

"I know it's a lot of work, but I have no doubt that we are going to succeed," he said.

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