Six belugas and the remaining two orcas from the so-called whale jail in Russia's Far East have been sent to the location from where they will be released into the Sea of Okhotsk, Alexei Smorodov, the spokesman for the Russian Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography, told Sputnik on Thursday
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 have been sent to the location from where they will be released into the Sea of Okhotsk, Alexei Smorodov, the spokesman for the Russian Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography, told Sputnik on Thursday.The first group of marine mammals, comprising two orcas and six belugas, was released on June 27. Two more groups with three orcas each were then released on July 16 and August 6. Once the newest group of eight mammals is set free, 75 belugas will remain in the whale jail awaiting their release.
"Two orcas and six belugas were loaded onto vehicles and left for Khabarovsk escorted by traffic police. These are the last orcas, a male and a female, that were at the adaptation center," Smorodov said.
According to him, veterinarians had determined the animals' condition to be satisfactory.
The convoy is expected to arrive at the port of Khabarovsk on Friday afternoon where the animals will be loaded onto a ship and taken in transport tubs along the Amur River to the Nikolayevsky District, 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 launched to look into potential 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 conditions.
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).
