Posts Tagged ‘Russia’
Is a good outcome possible for the jailed whales in Russia?
It’s not often that we report good news from Russia about whales and dolphins. We have been fighting for many years to end the capture of orcas and belugas from Russian waters for the aquarium trade. The bad news continued in 2018, as dozens of whales were illegally incarcerated in holding pens in Srednyaya Bay…
Read MoreMore orcas captured in the Okhotsk Sea, Russia—When will it stop?
Three orcas (killer whales) have been captured in the Okhotsk Sea in the Russian Far East, according to sources at the Far East Russia Orca Project (FEROP). The first one, captured in early July, was moved through Sakhalinsky Bay on July 15, 2015. Since then, two more have been captured, also thought to have been caught in…
Read MoreJapanese sperm whale hunt figures ‘not credible’ says new report
A new report published by the Royal Society has suggested that historical whaling data supplied by Japan may have been inaccurate, with under-reporting of the size and number of sperm whales hunted during the 1960s. During the 1990s, it was revealed that the former Soviet Union had falsified its whaling data over the previous 30 years,…
Read MoreCaptive orcas held in horrific conditions
Disturbing news is coming out of Russia that two orcas, Narnia and another unnamed male, both captured from the wild in 2012 and 2013, respectively, are currently being held in cramped conditions in a makeshift rusty tank as delays to the opening of Moscow’s new VDNKh Oceanarium continue. The orcas were flown to Moscow last…
Read MoreFar East Russia Orca Project (FEROP) and others speak out on Russian orca captures
On the orca and beluga capture front in Russia, things have gone from bad to worse in recent months. Four orcas were reported captured this past summer in the Okhotsk Sea, three of them now thought to be in China, and the orca quotas have been reallocated at 10 per year despite all the evidence…
Read MoreRussian orca capture activities moving into high gear — but are captors acting without permits?
The sordid details are now emerging of further orca capture activities in the Russian Far East southwestern Okhotsk Sea. The two orcas captured in mid-July, and reported here earlier, have been shipped to China. And now we have learned that two more orcas were captured in the Okhotsk Sea in late July. The legality of…
Read MoreRussian quota issued for 10 more orca captures
What now for Russian orcas? Following the news that two orcas were captured in the Okhotsk Sea, Russia, we now have the announcement of the 2014 quota allowing potential captors to apply for permits to catch 10 more orcas. Actually, usually the quota and the permit process happen before the actual captures, but this is Russia. …
Read MoreRussia seizes Japanese whaling vessel
The Japan Times leads with a report that ‘Russia has seized a Japanese research whaling ship in the Sea of Okhotsk on suspicion of intruding into Russian territorial waters, government sources said on Friday. The 712-ton Shonan Maru No. 2 left Japan on Aug. 8 to examine whales in the Sea of Okhotsk at the…
Read MoreTwo orcas taken in illegal capture in Russia
Two killer whales were captured in recent weeks in Nikolaya Gulf, in the southwestern Sea of Okhotsk, the Russian Far East. The captors are reporting that the orcas were actually taken in 2013 and spent the winter in Nikolaya Gulf. This is impossible because the Gulf is completely frozen in winter. Word is that the…
Read MoreRussian Navy reported to have seized Ukranian dolphins for military
WDC is monitoring with concern reports that Russian armed forces have taken control of Ukrainian military bases holding dolphins. WDC has documented the use of dolphins in military programmes and investigated the export of military dolphins from the Black Sea previously. This is not a new phenomenon in the area. A military dolphinarium was established…
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