After 10 months of speculation and a police investigation, a Moscow aquarium finally confirmed reports of secretly housing two wild-caught orcas, which they planned to showcase later as a "surprise" to guests.
Visitors to Moscow’s VDNKh park (also called the All-Russia Exhibition Centre) reported hearing "terrifying screams" and loud splashing water. Activists asked about the orcas and noticed fish and salty puddles outside a locked fence, but park staff claimed there were no animals behind the scenes. Only a police investigation revealed the presence of orcas, but authorities can't do anything because no laws are being broken.
The orcas -- a 7-year-old female named Narnia and an unnamed 5-year-old male, were captured in November 2013 from the Sea of Okhotsk in Russia's Far East. Activists expect they will meet the same fate as SeaWorld's orcas, such as lack of exercise, self-destructive and stereotyped behavior and isolation from normal social groups. They might also lash out violently against trainers, as SeaWorld's orcas have.
Please sign the petition to tell the All-Russia Exhibition Centre to release these two orcas back to the sea where they belong.
