Russian orca capture
Action Alert.
Please join the protest!
The capture of a young female orca in Russia’s far eastern waters and her subsequent shipment by air to a facility on the Black Sea coast have now been confirmed. The capture took place on September 26th and the shipment on October 5th. The 430cm long orca, perhaps just 6 years old, reached her desolate destination at the Utrish Marine station on October 6th. The facts of the capture and transport were confirmed in a letter to us from Dr. Lev Mukhametov of Moscow’s Utrish Dolphinarium Ltd. on October 8th . This “dolphinarium” operates under the auspices of the Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution. The letter we received can be downloaded here as a Microsoft Word document. The bare facts stated hide the tragic truth that the capture not only tore this young female orca from her family but killed another member as well. Additional details about the capture can be seen at:http://www.wdcs.org/dan/publishing.nsf/allweb/FE9F5650FAFB273280256DBB002AFFEE.
Having failed to prevent the first capture and death, our collective task now becomes one of preventing others. Our immediate goal is to prevent further captures during this critical month of October… the captors have permission from the Russian government to capture up to 9 more orcas in the Sea of Okhosk and surrounding waters during October.
It will certainly be difficult to prevent further tragedy, but we must try. Knowing that you want to help, here is what we would like you to do:
1. Send brief urgent messages to the Russian government, the Utrish Dolphinarium and the Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution expressing your feelings about the capture and death of these orcas, and about any plans for additional capture attempts.
It is best, by far, to fax your messages, so please go out of your way to do so. If you are unable to send a fax, make a phone call. Try not to just leave a message with an operator. If faxing or phoning is too costly or difficult, send an email.
Here is the list of contact names along with fax & phone numbers and email addresses:
Dr. Lev Mukhametov, Utrish Dolphinarium Ltd.
Tel/fax: +7 (095) 958-1260
Email: [email protected]
Dr. Dmitry S. Pavlov, Director A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution
Tel: +7 (095) 952-2088
Fax: +7 (095) 954-5534
Email: [email protected]
Vitaly G. Artyukhov,
Minister of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation,
Fax: +7 (095) 254 66 10; +7 (095) 254 43 10
Email: [email protected] and [email protected]
Vladimir Putin
President of the Russian Federation,
Email: [email protected]
2. Forward this action alert to anyone you know who may be willing to help.
3. Send our press release (click here to download Microsoft Word document) to any media you may know, along with the link to the WDCS story:http://www.wdcs.org/dan/publishing.nsf/allweb/FE9F5650FAFB273280256DBB002AFFEE
4. Contact your legislators. The U.S. and Canada and other countries are giving Russia millions of dollars in aid. Ask for amendments to Russian aid legislation that prohibit any spending if they are capturing orcas.
5. If you would like to receive emailed campaign alerts and news from us, send an email to[email protected].
Click here to listen to an audio sample from the Russian orcas (5mb)…
We cannot overstate the urgency of the situation if further captures are to be averted.
Please… act now!
Thank you very much.
Paul Spong & Helena Symonds
