December 26, 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The famous oceanologist and conservationist Jean-Michel Cousteau sent a video message in which he thanks Russia for the release of 10 orcas and 87 belugas from the \u201cwhale jail\u201d in Primorye.
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\u201cRussia showed great leadership,\u201d says Cousteau. \u201cI congratulate the Russian government and the Russian people on this extraordinary and unprecedented achievement. I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart to the Russian leaders who made this happen. \u201d
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\u201cThe time has come to view captivity of whales and dolphins as part of our history, not a tragic part of our future,\u201d says Jean-Michel and calls on all countries to ban the capture of cetaceans for the entertainment industry.
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We support Jean-Michel and believe that the brutal exploitation of whales and dolphins in captivity should be a thing of the past. Citizens of Russia spoke out loudly about this – the petition on federal government website (ROI ) for the ban on capture of cetacean collected the required 100 thousand signatures in record time. No other animal welfare petition on the federal website was able to reach 100 thousand signatures.
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We hope that the Government of the Russian Federation will hear the voices of its citizens and fulfill its promise to legally ban the capture of cetaceans for cultural and educational purposes, as it was promised by Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Gordeev on the Direct Line with Vladimir Putin in June this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n