October 11, 2019

Friends, we received reliable information, confirmed by several sources, that on Monday, October 14, Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology of Russia Dmitry Kobylkin will have a meeting with representatives of Chinese companies that previously concluded contracts for the supply of belugas from Russia. The meeting will be held in the main building of the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia.
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These Chinese companies have already prepaid for 50 belugas. Recently, the Chinese government started defending commercial interests of Chinese companies, which resulted in this meeting.
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According to our information, one of the organizers of this meeting is Alexander Botvinko, deputy secretary of the deputy prime minister of the President of Russia in the Far Eastern Federal District, Yury Trutnev, who had previously spoken out in favor of continuing capture of cetaceans for sale to foreign markets.
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Recall that the release of orcas and belugas from the “Whale Jail” was announced on the Direct Line of Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 20, 2019 and is still ongoing. To date, all 10 orcas and 26 belugas out of 87 have been released into their native Sea of ​​Okhotsk, 61 belugas are waiting for release.
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However, now their release may be hindered by new agreements between Russian officials and Chinese businessmen.
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The courts proved that captures were illegal, it was also established by the court that Russian law prohibits the sale, as well as other transfer of cetaceans, caught for educational and cultural and educational purposes, to outside legal entities and individuals, both in Russia and abroad.
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We have already send a letter to the Prosecutor General of Russia with request to take action.
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Now we need your help!
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We urge you to contact the Ministry of Natural Resources with questions about the reasons and goals of the negotiations with Chinese buyers of Russian belugas!
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Urgently! Call the numbers +7 (499) 254 48 00 or +7 (800) 222 48 01- if you can’t call from outside of Russia please send an urgent letter to the Ministry of Natural Resources through the form http://www.mnr.gov.ru/open_ministry/reference/

Now the fate of 50 belugas is in our hands! Do not be silent! Help save them! Please share as much as possible!