Hundreds of helpless whales are being kept in confined costal-fishers in Russia, and their plight has caught the attention of various animal rights groups and celebrities.
Termed as the “whale jail,” Russian President Vladimir Putin called for authorities to determine the animals fate by March 1st, but they are still being held in captivity.
The animals (11 killer whales and 87 belugas) were illegally captured in the Sea of Okhotsk last year and became trapped after Russia’s Prosecutor General said that companies who caught them did not have permits to export them to China. Initially, the plan was to sell the captured species to Chinese aquariums.
When and how?
Four Russian firms that supply marine animals to aquariums caught them over the course of seven months in the summer of 2018.
What do environmentalists think?
There are serious claims regarding the conditions of the animals. Environmentalists say they are being kept in cramped, stressful conditions. They say they are being fed by humans and forced to have medications that will boost their immune systems, making it potentially harder for them to survive if they make it back into the wild.
Scientists looked at the orca whale:
Scientists have found the orca whale to have extensive bruising on their lower jaws – bruising and erythemia (increased blood flow due to trauma, inflammation of infection). They also discovered broken teeth, which will likely cause extreme pain as the pulp of a tooth is full of nerve-rich soft tissues.
The tooth is also connected to a large nerve in the lower jaw. There were additional discoveries of creamy colouring on the tongue, likely to be Candidiasis.This condition is known to kill captured orca, which is linked to poor housing conditions and stress.
A different picture by local standards:
The Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment says that the animals are doing well, and that there are “no concerns about the orcas in the Bay of Srednaya.” According to the Russian Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography (VNIRO), they believe the whales may struggle to survive back in the ocean and therefore only the fittest will be freed, a potentially convenient approach to safeguard economic interests.
Once the authorities decide how many of them can go back into the wild, they are rehabilitated in preparation. The ice-free period will start in June, so those who are deemed as fit to leave captivity will be taken back to where hunters extracted them.
Orcas:
Orcas are the biggest dolphin species and are own of the smartest predators in the world. Scientists believes that a lack of stimulation, coupled with cramped and unnatural conditions can severely stress them out, leading to behaviours such as biting and repeatedly swimming in circles. According to the Whale and Dolphin Conservation, whales and dolphins die much earlier when they are captive than in the while.
