Six belugas and the remaining two orcas from the so-called whale jail in Russia's Far East are being loaded onto trucks that will transport them to a place for release into the Sea of Okhotsk, a spokesman for the Russian Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography, which is responsible for the freeing process, told Sputnik
VLADIVOSTOK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd August, 2019) Six belugas and the remaining two orcas from the so-called whale jail in Russia's Far East are being loaded onto trucks that will transport them to a place for release into the Sea of Okhotsk, a spokesman for the Russian Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography, which is responsible for the freeing process, told Sputnik.
The first group of two orcas and six belugas was released on June 27, the second group on July 16, while another three orcas were released into the wild on August 6. Once the new group of eight mammals is set free, 75 belugas will remain in the whale jail awaiting their release.
"The loading has already started. The belugas are being loaded first," Alexei Smorodov said.
In October 2018, the so-called whale jail made headlines after Greenpeace claimed that a group of endangered marine mammals, held there in captivity, were being prepared to be smuggled to China. A probe was opened into the illegal fishing of aquatic animals and animal abuse. The investigation found a group of more than 100 orca and beluga whales trapped in a sea enclosure in deplorable condition.
Russian President Vladimir Putin tasked the relevant agencies to lead the case, and a local court eventually ruled that the sea mammals had been caught illegally. The companies responsible for the violation were reportedly fined a total of 150 million rubles ($2.4 million).
