The law, which introduces a ban on catching marine mammals for educational and cultural purposes, was signed by the President of the Russian Federation. The document will enter into force on September 1, 2024.
Harvesting (catch) of marine mammals for educational, cultural and educational purposes will be allowed only on the basis of a decision of the government commission, which must be published on the official website of the Federal Agency for Fisheries.
According to the authors of the law, the capture of marine mammals for cultural and educational purposes actually means their use in entertainment events. The aim is to make profit.
As stated in the explanatory note to the document, the ban established by law will close the possibility of replenishing dolphinariums, sea circuses, etc. animals caught in nature. At the same time, the replenishment of such institutions with individuals born in captivity is not prohibited.
The authors of the law explain that by the urgent need by the events of October 2018, when the infamous “whale prison” was discovered in the Srednyaya Bay of Primorsky Krai. There, in terrible conditions, 11 killer whales and 90 belugas were kept. Law enforcement agencies revealed that the capture of marine mammals occurred with numerous violations of the law.
As noted in the explanatory note, the need of dolphinariums for mammals contributes to poaching. At the same time, dolphins are often kept in inadequate conditions.
Meanwhile, as of 2021, stationary and mobile dolphinariums are prohibited in 19 European states, according to the authors of the law. Capture, import and export of marine mammals is not allowed in Mexico and Chile. Israel bans the import of dolphins for recreational purposes, and Switzerland bans the import of live cetaceans.
Small cetaceans for sale in dolphinariums continue to be caught only by Japan and some island states of the Caribbean, the rest of the countries have abandoned this practice, the note emphasizes.
The authors draw attention to the fact that seven species of cetaceans from the Red Book of the Russian Federation are endangered or are under critical threat of extinction, three species are declining in number, four have the status of "rare", six are indeterminate in status, and only three species - refer to recoverable and recoverable.
The ban on catching marine mammals for educational and cultural purposes was supported by the Moskvarium Center for Oceanography and Marine Biology.
As the post on his website says, today the concept of the center does not involve capturing marine mammals from the wild. In addition, in 2019, Moskvarium specialists participated in the liquidation of the very “whale prison”.
“The increase in the number of animals in the Moskvarium is due to the natural reproduction of the inhabitants of the center or the acquisition of animals from oceanariums that, for various reasons, are not capable of keeping large marine mammals,” the center noted.
They explained that the rehabilitation and readaptation of marine mammals that have spent a long time in captivity is not always possible. In such cases, moving the animal to the aquarium may be the best solution.
Recall that in 2021, Russia also adopted a law banning industrial and coastal production of cetaceans.
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