Excursions for kids in the “whale jail instead of the rehabilitation

Court declared the decision on the distribution of quotas for capture of orcas and beluga whales in 2018 illegal
14.06.2019
Court fined capture company 28 million rubles (435 000 USD)
14.06.2019

Excursions for kids in the “whale jail instead of the rehabilitation

June 2, 2019

Capture companies conduct excursions contrary to the recommendations of the council of scientists insisting on the rehabilitation of 10 killer whales and 87 belugas in the Bay of Srednyaya for subsequent release into the wild.

Companies that hold marine mammals in Srednyaya Bay near Nakhodka do not intend to follow the recommendations of the scientific consultation. Instead of re-adaptation, which involves minimizing the contacts of 10 killer whales and 87 belugas with people, guided tours are held in the “whale jail”.

Although the representatives of the four organizations that captured the animals, repeatedly stated the constant stress of the whales after each inspection, in the morning of June 2, a huge number of children and adults arrived at the base to visit the animals. Animal activist Nina Zyryanova counted about 40 people in front of the gate.

People who came to Srednyaya said that they had arrived from Nakhodka and brought kindergarteners on a tour.
“While these animals are not released, we came here on a tour, we brought kids from kindergarten. They say the animals are going to be released, but not likely. The owner does not want to, ”said one of the women.

Earlier, director of Afalina LLC, Alexei Reshetov, stated that all the talk about release was just a talk and animals are his property. But after the Kremlin reacted to that statement Mr. Reshetov and his business partners changed their rhetoric, saying that they followed the recommendations of the country’s leadership and the council of scientists, and the words about “rumors in the press about release” were “a reaction of a tired person to an incorrectly asked question”.

The full article in Russian: https://www.newsvl.ru/vlad/2019/06/02/181151/#ixzz5pgubJTuY

Dear friends, what is happening in the whale jail is ignoring of the order of russian president, the recommendations of the international Cousteau team, the council of Russian and international scientists. Why is this happening?! The absurdity of this situation has already crossed all boundaries. Russian authorities told the entire world that the animals will be rehabilitated and released, that safety of the animals comes first, but still no rehabilitation work in the whale jail started and no other concrete actions are being taken to prepare killer whales and belugas for release. All that we see is inaction at all levels of government and empty words, completely unsupported by anything! Such excursions (tours to animals) are held not for the first time – we managed to find photos from such a tour published on May 20, 2019.

Government continue to say a loud phrases, and captors continue to ignore the need for rehabilitation and prepare whales for sale. How long will this go on?