Stop Importing Beluga Whales for Marine Parks
- by: Care2.com
- recipient: NOAA Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Fisheries Russel Smith
When you're upwards of 15 feet long and accustomed to living in the ocean, a tank for a home just isn't going to cut it.
Unfortunately, 18 beluga whales originally from the waters of Sakhalin Island await that very fate. They currently reside in a Russian tank while Georgia Aquarium seeks permission to place them in park attractions, where they would interact with untrained humans.
The Georgia Aquarium has said that the marine parks need the belugas for education, research, and breeding to enhance diversity within the endangered species.
But capturing beluga whales destroys their family groups. These particular belugas normally migrate and dive up to 1,000 feet below sea level to find food. Tanks just do not allow them to live normally.
Friday, Oct. 19th marks the first hearing for this permit, which will eventually be decided on next year.
Tell NAOO to turn down the permit that would allow for the import of beluga whales!
Dear Russel Smith,
Russia currently holds eighteen beluga whales who were torn from their home in the Sakhalin Island waters. The marine mammal welfare community has expressed their concerns about the importation of these belugas for marine parks around the United States, and I am also not in favor of their captivity. I think the Georgia Aquarium team has grossly underestimated how detrimental captivity is to these animals.
[Your comment]I urge you to turn down the permit allowing fot the importation of these eighteen beluga whales.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
