A Heartbreaking Look at Beluga Captivity (PHOTOS)

From the 2009 documentary “The Cove,” we learned about the heinous acts committed against dolphins in Taiji, and from “Blackfish,” we learned about the sad fate of captive orcas in marine parks.

Both films have helped bring marine animal protection issues into the spotlight as they have never been before and have encouraged the growth of new groups of ocean advocates.

Yet, as with nearly all issues, there is still much more going on that few will ever see. For instance, orcas and dolphins are not the only animals captured for the purposes of captive entertainment. As the Daily Mail has recently shown, beluga whales are also made victims.

Each year, hundreds of wild belugas are rounded up in a small village in northern Russia called Nilmoguba, situated near the Polar Circle.

According to the Daily Mail, a team of specialists is issued licenses to capture belugas and train them “for a life entertaining humans.”

Sadly, not all captured belugas end up surviving their six months of training as they are often too stressed and unable to adapt to their new environment. For the belugas that do make it through, they are transported to circuses and marine parks around Russia, forced into a life of captivity forever.

With photos courtesy of the Daily Mail below, meet 12-year-old male beluga, Petrovich, one of hundreds of orcas who have been rounded up in Nilmoguba. Petrovich was captured last fall and will soon “have a new home in Moscow,” as the Daily Mail reports.

Unlike other belugas, Petrovich was able to adapt easily to people and his new feeding regime. However, simply because certain animals are more “adaptable” than others does not provide sound reasoning for taking away their freedom in the first place.

All images: ExclusivePix / Daily Mail