‘Russian spy’ whale Hvaldimir killed by gunshots: Animal rights groups
Al Jazeera
The beluga rose to fame in 2019 after being spotted at sea wearing a harness with mounts for a camera, sparking suspicions the animal may have been trained by Russia’s military.
Animal rights groups said gunfire killed a beluga whale that rose to fame in Norway after its unusual harness sparked suspicions the creature had been trained by Russia as a spy.
The organisations NOAH and OneWhale said they had filed a complaint with Norwegian police asking them to open a criminal investigation in the death of the animal.
The beluga, nicknamed Hvaldimir, rose to fame in 2019 after being seen at sea wearing a specially-fitted harness with mounts for a camera, prompting concerns that the animal may have been trained by the Russian military to gather intelligence.
A celebrity in Norway, Hvaldimir was found dead on Saturday in a bay on the country’s southwestern coast. His body was transported to a local branch of the Norwegian Veterinary Institute on Monday for an autopsy. A report on Hvaldimir’s death is expected “within three weeks”, a spokeswoman for the institute said.
NOAH and OneWhale have called for a criminal investigation to be launched “based on compelling evidence that the whale was killed by gunshot wounds”.
