Actor Leonardo DiCaprio on his page in Facebook addressed to the subscribers with the request to support was published on the website Change.org the petition for the release of orcas and Beluga whales from the “whale jail” in Primorsky Krai

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Actor Leonardo DiCaprio on his page in Facebook addressed to the subscribers with the request to support was published on the website Change.org the petition for the release of orcas and Beluga whales from the “whale jail” in Primorsky Krai.

“Please sign the petition below and speak up with me against the inhuman prey of killer whales and Beluga whales in Russia”, – wrote the actor.

In the petition, which was signed by more than 880 thousand people, said that the orcas should be released in their natural habitat, and Beluga whales need to convey to the responsible persons who will feed them, hold their rehabilitation and release into their natural habitat when they are ready. The authors note that, according to experts, animals can die if they will continue to contain in the center.

The fate of the killer whales and Beluga whales in mid-December, concerned about the actress, model and animal rights activist Pamela Anderson. On the website of his Foundation, it appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin with a request to stop the trapping of wild marine mammals, killer whales and Beluga whales for export to China and their use in aquariums. Also save the animals asked the son of Explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau, French oceanographer Jean-Michel Cousteau.

In the end, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave the Ministry of environment and the Ministry of agriculture, together with research organizations in order to decide the fate of the whales, located in the center of the overexposure, in the period until 1 March. The President also instructed the Prosecutor General’s office until November 1 to inspect the legality of the use of marine mammals, particularly those that are in the Bay Average.

According to the instructions, the government will have to work out the issues and, if necessary, to ensure that changes in the Russian legislation, to define the features of production and use of marine mammals. Also necessary to establish requirements for the contents of hunted animals. The first report of the Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev should present to 25 July. Then the government will report on progress every six months.

“The fact that now there are some restrictive measures imposed, so far as we know. Therefore, it is necessary first to deal with the situation de jure, – explained the press-Secretary of the President Dmitry Peskov. – But deal with it for a long time impossible, because it is already considerably delayed, the animals suffer. So it took the instruction of the head of state”.

Peskov noted that the situation in mammals, is contained in the center of the overexposure in the Bay Average in Primorye, “resonant” and “complex”. In addition, “all environmentalists recognize that animals are very bad and there is the threat of death,” he added. The press Secretary also acknowledged that in the Russian legislation there is no explicit prohibition on catching these animals and selling them, but the conditions in which animals are kept, “were not and are not appropriate for young, growing individuals of this species”.

In the Ministry of natural resources has stated that they intend to act on behalf of the President, having received the opinion of scientists on the condition of the animals and then to arrange their transportation with the help of special vessels and Navy.

On 5 November last year it was reported about the mass export from the Bay Average endangered orcas and Beluga whales, which were caught and loaded with cranes in the shipping container for transportation. According to environmentalists, urgent evacuation of captive animals was associated with the inspections of the Prosecutor’s office and other regulatory agencies. She passed just a day before one of the checks.

Far Eastern operative customs (DVOT) promised to follow the fate of mammals. December 24 with the animals was released. Animal rights activists have expressed concern that after the killer whales and Beluga whales can take out the smugglers to sell them to foreign aquariums.

In mid-November, the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case on the illegal extraction of aquatic biological resources (part 3 of article 256 of the criminal code): 12 orca and 90 Beluga whales were caught for resale in aquariums, although permission was given to catch these cetaceans “for cultural and educational purposes.” A few mammals were too weak and died. It turned out that almost all marine animals are cubs, though to catch the young belugas and orcas, the law does not permit.

On 24 January, the Russian branch of the international environmental organization Greepeace said that the animals in mortal danger: the condition of the skin of the majority of whales has changed, and some of them needed medical care.

In early February, the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case on animal cruelty.