Rally To Defend Orcas, Belugas From 'Whale Jail' In Russia's Far East Was Held In Moscow

A rally to defend orcas and belugas that have been caught illegally and are being held in the so-called whale prison in the Russian Far Eastern Primorsky Territory was held in Moscow, a Sputnik correspondent reported

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th March, 2019) A rally to defend orcas and belugas that have been caught illegally and are being held in the so-called whale prison in the Russian Far Eastern Primorsky Territory was held in Moscow, a Sputnik correspondent reported.

The rally was held in downtown Moscow, on Nikitskiye Vorota square, near the monument to prominent Russian botanist Kliment Timiryazev. The Sputnik correspondent said that around 30 people took part in the event, which the mayor's office had approved, according to the organizers. Meanwhile, other media reports claim that around 40 protesters attended the rally.

Protesters were holding posters calling to ban cetacean bycatch.

Earlier in the day, a rally to defend the residents of the whale prison was held in the Russian Far Eastern city of Vladivostok. The gathering was approved by local authorities as well.

The so-called killer whale in Russia's Srednyaya Bay made headlines last fall after Greenpeace reported that preparations for selling 13 orcas which are on the Red List of Threatened Species to China were underway, while 15 orcas had already been sold to China over the past five years.

A probe has been launched into the illegal fishing of aquatic animals and animal abuse. Russian President Vladimir Putin has tasked the Environment Ministry and the Ministry of Agriculture with deciding the fate of the confined animals.

In early March, the press service of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Gordeyev said in a statement that Russia would open a rehabilitation center for sea mammals, including those from the so-called whale jail, in one of Primorsky Territory's harbors to prepare them to be released back into the wild.