Kate Mara, Mark Ruffalo Join Call for Putin to Free Orcas From ‘Whale Jail’
For Immediate Release:
March 18, 2019
Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382
Over the weekend, a coalition of celebrities and PETA supporters—including actors Kate Mara, Mark Ruffalo, Maisie Williams, Hayden Panettiere, Edward Norton, and Adrian Grenier—signed onto a letter sent by the Earth Island Institute urging Russian President Vladimir Putin to ensure that the more than 80 whales currently held captive in Srednyaya Bay are released back into their ocean homes.
The letter thanks Putin for his previous efforts to help the whales—including blocking their export to marine mammal parks in other countries and prohibiting new capture permits for 2019—and stresses the importance of providing the animals with larger, insulated enclosures until they can be rehabilitated and released back into their natural habitat.
“We commend the action you have taken so far to block the export of these amazing beings …. and fully support the Russian initiative to implement a permanent ban on capture of Russian orcas and beluga whales,” the letter states. “We would like to ask you to take several important steps for the welfare of the remaining whales in the sea pens … [and] return the orcas and beluga whales to the Sea of Okhotsk and their birth populations when feasible.” It continues, “The world is waiting for a happy ending.”
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—opposes speciesism, which is a supremacist view of the world. For more information, please visit PETA.org.
The PETA-supported Earth Island Institute letter to President Putin follows.
President Vladimir Putin March 17, 2019
Russian Federation
23, Ulitsa Ilyinka,
103132, Moscow, Russia
Russian Federation Embassy
2650 Wisconsin Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20007
Dear President Putin:
We are writing to thank you and the Russian government for steps taken to protect 80+ beluga whales and 10 orcas now held in inadequate conditions in Srednyaya Bay, near the east coast city of Nakhodka.
We commend the action you have taken so far to block the export of these amazing beings to dolphinariums in other countries, as whales and dolphins do not cope well with captivity. We further commend you and your government for blocking new capture permits for 2019, and fully support the Russian initiative to implement a permanent ban on capture of Russian orcas and beluga whales. Such an action would prevent the horrible situation playing out in the Far East from happening ever again in the future.
We would like to ask you to take several important steps for the welfare of the remaining whales in the sea pens. We cannot stress enough that the lives of these whales are in danger, and they need immediate help. Please consider expanding their current sea pens in size and/or building additional enclosures to reduce the number of animals per pen and introducing insulation and warming protocols to prevent ice from forming in the enclosures. These steps are critical for the whales’ survival.
We further ask you and the Russian government, in consultation with Russian scientists and Russian non-governmental organizations, to plan to return the orcas and beluga whales to the Sea of Okhotsk and their birth populations when feasible. There are many international scientists and experts as well who have extensive expertise in successfully rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing orcas to the wild, such as Keiko, Springer and many others. International experts will be happy to provide their help to Russian colleagues with rehabilitation and release of the orcas and belugas back into the wild.
This is an important moment for Russia on the world stage.
The world is waiting for a happy ending in this tragic and unfortunate situation. Thank you again for all that you have done, and please take action to protect these magnificent Russian whales!
Sincerely,
Pamela Anderson
Actor
Yuliya Aug
Actor
Wendy Benchley
Co-Founder, Peter Benchley Ocean Awards
Member, WildAid Board of Directors
Sir Richard Branson
Founder and Chairman, Virgin Group
Member, Ocean Elders
Jackson Browne
Musician
Member, Ocean Elders
Tom Campbell
Cinematographer, Producer, Director
Susan Casey
Bestselling Author, Voices from the Ocean
Former Editor-in-Chief, O Magazine
Gregory Colbert
Artist, Creator of Ashes and Snow
Holly Marie Combs
Actor
Celine S. Cousteau
Filmmaker, Environmentalist
Jean-Michel Cousteau
Chairman and President, Ocean Futures Society
Member, Ocean Elders
Gabriela Cowperthwaite
Director, Blackfish
Beth Davidow
Cinematographer, Filmmaker, Author
Kristin Davis
Actor, Environmentalist
Saba Douglas-Hamilton
Television Presenter, Wildlife Conservationist
Sylvia Earle, PhD
National Geographic Explorer in Residence
Founder, Mission Blue
Member, Ocean Elders
Jane Goodall, PhD, DBE
Founder, Jane Goodall Institute
UN Messenger of Peace
Adrian Grenier
Actor, Director, Producer
Tom Gruber
Co-Founder of Siri Inc.
Member, Ocean Elders
Sati Kazanova
Singer
Graeme Kelleher
Former Chairman and CEO, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
Member, Ocean Elders
Yuri Kolokolnikov
Actor
Doutzen Kroes
Supermodel, Actor, Environmentalist
Ilya Lagutenko
Musician, Mumiy Troll
Founder of VROX.org Festival
Kate Mara
Actor
Eli Martinez
International TV presenter, Environmentalist
Founder of Shark Diver Magazine
Rinal Mukhametov
Actor
Leilani Münter
Race Car Driver, Environmentalist
Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan
Member, Ocean Elders
Edward Norton Jr.
Actor
Hayden Panettiere
Actor
Prof. Bertrand Piccard
Chair, Solar Impulse Foundation
Member, Ocean Elders
Louie Psihoyos
Executive Director, Oceanic Preservation Society
Director, The Cove
Mark Ruffalo
Actor, Environmentalist
David Shaw
Manager, Black Point Group
Member, Ocean Elders
Robert Talbot
Film Maker, Photographer
Anne-Marie van Dijk
International Model
Natalia Vodianova
Supermodel, Elbi Founder
Captain Don Walsh, PhD
USN (Ret)
Member, Ocean Elders
Bob Weir
Musician
Member, Ocean Elders
Maisie Williams
Actor, Environmentalist
Ann Wilson
Musician, Heart
Nancy Wilson
Musician, Heart
Olga Zueva
Filmmaker
