The Investigative Committee opened a case of cruelty to killer whales and beluga whales in a bay near Nakhodka

In the Khabarovsk Territory, the Investigative Committee opened a case of cruel treatment (Article 245 of the Criminal Code) with killer whales and beluga whales kept in a bay near Nakhodka, according to the department’s website.

“Investigators will promptly take comprehensive measures to return all marine mammals to their natural habitat,” the Investigative Committee promised.

Back in October 2018, animal rights activists reported that in the “whale prison” in Srednyaya Bay, 11 killer whales listed in the Red Book of Kamchatka and 90 beluga whales were kept in inappropriate conditions.

After a wide public outcry, in November of the same year, the Investigative Committee opened a case of illegal fishing of marine animals by an organized group (Part 3 of Article 256 of the Criminal Code).

The agency found out that several companies received permission to catch mammals for cultural and educational purposes, but most of the killer whales and beluga whales turned out to be either calves or have not reached puberty—catching such animals is prohibited by law.

The prosecutor's office, in turn, found that permits for the sale of animals were issued with violations, and the mammals themselves were kept in improper conditions.

At the end of November 2018, the Leninsky District Court of Vladivostok placed a protective arrest on the animals. in December The arrest was lifted .

Animal rights activists fear that killer whales and beluga whales may now be sold abroad. Environmentalists asked for the animals to be released because they may need rehabilitation due to being kept in an enclosure for a long time. In December, three beluga whale calves disappeared from their enclosure ; animal rights activists are confident that they died. Law enforcement officials adhere to the version that the white whales “swimmed away.”