The new Lotte World aquarium in southern Seoul, Korea is showcasing three threatened beluga whales. The animals had been caught in the wild and were imported to the aquarium from Russia.
The Russian government has been profiting from the capture of beluga whales while commercial whaling has been banned due to the species' threatened status.
Wild beluga whales travel in groups up to several hundred thousand and dive to the sea floor to forage for food. Aquarium confinement prevents them from engaging in these natural behaviors. Worse, the Korean government has no regulations for exhibiting endangered species. This means there are no enforced regulations for diet, water temperature and other basic things beluga whales need to live and be healthy.
These whales deserve to live in the wild, not in a for-profit aquarium's tank. Please sign the petition to urge Lotte World to release these animals back in the wild where they belong!
We, the undersigned, are concerned with your decision to display three threatened beluga whales in your aquarium. We understand that the animals had been caught in the wild and were imported to the aquarium from Russia.
The Russian government has been profiting from the capture of beluga whales while commercial whaling has been banned due to the species' threatened status.
Wild beluga whales travel in groups up to several hundred thousand and dive to the sea floor to forage for food. Aquarium confinement prevents them from engaging in these natural behaviors. Worse, the Korean government has no regulations for exhibiting endangered species. This means there are no enforced regulations for diet, water temperature and other basic things beluga whales need to live and be healthy.
We believe that these whales deserve to live in the wild, not in a for-profit aquarium's tank. We respectfully urge you to release these three whales back to the wild where they belong. Thank you for taking the time to read and consider our petition.
