Born to Be Free (2016) - full transcript

[Gayane Petrosyan, narrating]
It was summer 2013,

and I was on the Black Sea with my friends

the free divers Julia Petrik
and Tatiana Beley.

They were doing the one thing
they loved more than anything else,

swimming with dolphins.

[Gayane, in Russian]
Quick, get in the water. I can see some.

- [man, in Russian] Dive in. They're here.
- [Tatiana, in Russian] I'm going in.

[exclaims, laughs]

[Gayane] Hey, girls, what did you see?

Wow, it was just amazing.

Today we were so impressed.



- Of course...
- Of course, we would like more,

but at least we saw something.

And they really spoke with us.
That's the important thing.

[Gayane, narrating]Back on land, we
noticed the huge number of dolphinariums

that were operating on the Black Sea.

LAND OF DOLPHINS

In this one, we were
horrified to discover three beluga whales

living in warm water
in small concrete tanks.

[beluga vocalizing]

[Julia, in Russian]
These beautiful, free creatures

are no more animals
than human beings are animals.

They should not be in cages like this.

[Gayane, narrating]
Julia was the first free diver in Russia

and the first woman to win
the national free diving championships.



And she has a history with belugas.

[Julia] Beluga whales
are basically big polar dolphins.

They live in different places,
but only in the polar seas.

I met two beluga whales in the White Sea.

A small part of it was enclosed,

and they were supposed to be studied
by biologists.

Julia visited the White Sea several times,

but the two belugas she swam with were
eventually sold to another dolphinarium.

And what had been
a scientific research center

became an arm
of the dolphinarium industry.

[Julia]
Then they began catching new belugas,

and they started teaching them
to jump through rings and fetch balls.

Tourists started paying
to dive with the belugas.

It turned into a big business.

I never swam with dolphins in captivity
after that.

[Gayane, narrating]We left the Black Sea,

seriously worried about the belugas
we'd seen in captivity.

Back in Moscow,

the largest dolphinarium in Europe
was under construction.

And belugas hit the headlines.

[man] Kim Basinger asks President Putin
to release some whales into the wild,

which are being held
in Utrish Marine Station on the Black Sea.

They were supposed to go to Georgia
Aquarium but have been stranded in Russia

because of new US laws
on marine mammal protection.

The actress wrote to Putin

because of his regular participation
in issues of animal welfare.

That letter from Kim Basinger

changed everything for me and Tanya.

We decided we had to find out

what was going to happen
to the 18 belugas in the letter.

Could we find them?

Who had captured them?

And what forces were driving
this global trade in wild sea mammals?

Our first destination was Utrish,

where apparently
the 18 belugas were being held.

Tanya found Konstantin on the Internet.

He lived near Utrish

and had worked in other dolphinariums
on the Black Sea.

VITYAZEVO DOLPHINARIUM
AMAZING - SO CLOSE

When I was working in the dolphinarium,

I saw dolphins stuck to the openings
which supplied fresh seawater.

Because they are poisoned by chlorine.

Nobody supervises this business.

It's a mess.

There are clear violations of the rules.
It's written all over their faces.

And everyone turns a blind eye.
They don't want to see.

It's a huge business.

Earlier that year,

Konstantin had seen some belugas
being trained in an old dolphinarium.

[Konstantin] There is a small hill,

a strip of shoreline

and open water just ten meters away.

They pump water in,
and this is where they put the belugas.

But the water is shallow and gets heated
up to 32-33 degrees Celsius.

And the maximum temperature for them
is about 14-16.

NO ENTRY!

[Tatiana]
Are these thorns planted here on purpose?

[Gayane] The thorns are bad.

[Tatiana] It doesn't look good.

- NO TRESPASSING! GUARD DOGS!
- (ROTTWEILERS)

[barks]

- So what was your name?
- Tanya.

Gaya.

- I'm Ludmila.
- Pleasure to meet you.

And my husband is Yevgeny.

We're caretakers here.

Or he is. Me not so much.

[Gayane] I heard
that you are keeping dolphins here.

They were taken away to Gelendzik.

The lake needs to be treated.

What's the matter with the lake?

The water is so dirty.
They need to pump it out.

- We were told you also have belugas.
- Yes.

- And they also went to Gelendzik?
- Yes.

Ah. How many?

Genya, we have guests!

[Gayane] Was it four belugas?

Yes. Four.

And what else?

[Yevgeny] Four belugas and some dolphins.

They were good guys.

Were they cheerful guys?

Yes. You can see where they were jumping.

And how long were they here?

About 18 months.

They were taken away in March.

[Gayane, narrating]
This crumbling dolphinarium

was once the main commercial arm
of the Utrish Marine Research Station.

It was the brainchild of one of Russia's
most distinguished marine biologists,

Lev Mukhametov.

[man, in Russian]
This research must be expensive?

Yes. The research into dolphins and
all marine mammals is hugely expensive.

That's why our research station created
the Utrish Entertainment Dolphinarium.

I see nothing wrong in making our trained
animals work to earn their fish

and raise money for our research.

Times are hard now.

The state doesn't finance science anymore,
so we have to be inventive.

Mukhametov is a serious scientist.

He was the man who discovered that dolphin
brains are divided into two hemispheres

which sleep at different times.

But since state funding
for Russian science dried up in the 1980s,

he's been increasingly involved
in a lot of the bulk capture

and training of belugas
for the dolphinarium industry.

If we're talking about any dolphin,
we don't need to mythologize,

because they are such amazing
and scientifically unusual animals.

[vocalizing]

- [PA: Russian folk song plays, up-beat]
- [vocalizing to music]

[song continues]

We wanted to speak to him.

His secretary said he was too busy,

but that we had his permission

to go and film at his dolphinarium
in St. Petersburg.

- [PA: Rock and roll playing]
- [audience clapping to music]

[man] Not only does Bayan love to dance,
but Sonya does too.

[rock and roll continues]

[gates clanging open and shut]

[seal roaring]

[man, in Russian] Normally, all
the animals arrive here at a young age,

when their character
is not yet fully developed.

It's harder to work with them
if they are mature...

if they already have complexes
and problems.

It's harder to tame and teach them.

[Gayane] But you do still have
mature animals coming here?

Yes. Sometimes they get trapped
in the fishing nets.

Fishermen bring the animals to us
and ask for help.

Some weakened animals were caught by them.

Is it true that that they have mood swings
like people?

Sometimes they're happy
and then they fall into a deep depression?

They certainly do.
Their moods can vary a great deal.

[creatures vocalizing]

You may say they are unhappy in captivity.

I could tell you, no, they're fine.

And no one would be able to say
who is right and who is wrong?

If we humans are the kings of nature
and able to subdue these animals,

why not recognize it?

NO ENTRY

[Gayane, narrating]
While I spoke to the head trainer,

Tanya went through the “No Entryâ€

to see the conditions
the animals lived in.

[vocalizing]

[Tatiana, whispering]
Please don't make any noise.

[footsteps]

[people chattering]

[Gayane, narrating]Lev Mukhametov was due
to appear at a St. Petersburg conference

on marine biology.

I still wanted to know
what was going to happen

to the 18 belugas stranded in Utrish
by a court case in America.

He again said he was too busy
for an interview,

but I discovered that he was chairing
a symposium with a Q-and-A session.

So now we have a little time
before the next presentation.

We can take some questions from the floor.

[Gayane] I would like to ask about the 18
belugas intended for Georgia Aquarium,

which due to the efforts
of American activists

were prohibited from import into the USA.

I have two questions.

What are the conditions in Utrish Station
where the animals are being held?

And what are the plans for their future?

These animals are held in Utrish Station
in three big tanks.

The standards are normal.
We change the water every day.

Water is pumped in from the sea every day.

The issue is not fully settled,
our colleagues have informed us.

There is a trial in process, and we have
no involvement with that case.

- Any other questions?
- [man, indistinct]

Yes, yes. Go ahead.

[Gayane, narrating]Knowing the belugas
were being held at Utrish Marine Station,

Tanya and I applied for permission
to film there

but were refused.

Tanya thought she had spotted the belugas
on a satellite image.

There are two tanks...

so something must be kept there.

I can see some white backs there,
or something white at least.

Can you zoom in a bit?

No. That's the maximum.

[Tatiana] There's one mountain there,
and here's another.

So maybe if we go to this point,
we could try the zoom.

[Gayane] There's a tank.

[Tatiana] That's the one we saw.

[Gayane] Flies. These flies are horrible.

[Tatiana] I'll shoo them away. You film.

[Tatiana]
Four there, seven there, another seven.

I think all 18 are here.

Yes, seven.

[Gayane] Everybody seems to be leaving.

Let's go down and see if we can get in.

The smell here is disgusting.

Poor babies.
How can we get you out of here?

[man] You aren't allowed here!

[in Russian] You can shoot here,
but understand we are afraid...

of Greenpeace activists.

The threat level has increased today.
That's why we're worried.

You may have heard of Kim Basinger,

or maybe you have seen her movies.

She wrote a letter to our President Putin
saying “Dear Mr. President,

We know the Russians
have caught a number of beluga whales

and they are kept there
in appalling conditions.â€.

This is just a publicity stunt. Of course.

Greenpeace paid her.

This is purely an American issue.

Because it's no secret
we do have an order from the Americans,

and we've been working on this project
for several years.

It's very serious work, and no one keeps
beluga whales in poor conditions.

I act strictly
in the framework of our laws.

No activist, nobody from Greenpeace,
can force me to release any animal.

If catching for slaughter
is permitted by the state,

so why not catch live dolphins?

There are legitimate reasons.

Science is good.

Dolphin therapy is good.

For conducting educational programs? Good.

For show business? Not so good.

But you need to make money somehow.

Okay, fine.

There is an international dolphin market.

Prices go far beyond human understanding.

Many would think themselves lucky
to buy our animals.

We wanted to know
how a scientific facility

was allowed to keep belugas
in such small tanks.

So we asked our friend,
the marine biologist Gregory Tsidulko.

[man] There are no rules for keeping
sea mammals in captivity in Russia.

You or I or anybody else
could buy an animal.

If it was legally captured,

anybody could buy it
and keep it in their bathtub.

Tsidulko used to work
for the dolphinarium at Moscow Zoo,

but he resigned in protest
at the condition of the animals there.

When he recently heard that
the dolphinarium's owner had been evicted

and was moving one of his belugas
to a tank in a Moscow park,

he feared for the worst.

[Gregory] The depth of the pool
in lzmailovsky Park is just three meters.

The quality of the water
gives you a sense of, if not horror,

then at least serious concern
for the animal's life.

[men chattering]

[in Russian] You want to have a look?

He really suffered
when he was being loaded.

Another beluga got injured.

[Tatiana] And what's happening now?

And now we have to throw him
into the pool.

And what's the problem?

We don't want to break it.
They will tear his damn fins.

The stretcher they're using doesn't even
have holes for his pectoral fins.

If they raise the beluga
without protecting his fins,

they will break his shoulder.

When you put him on the stretcher,

please check that his fins
are alongside his body,

or you'll break his shoulder.

The guy we're working for
is also a biologist and his trainer.

Okay. No questions. No problem.

Pull this one.

The bitch moved her tail.

Is this going to hold?

Are we going to do this or not?

Shut your mouth!

Won't he get strangled?

He's going to die.

[man shouting]

[men shouting]

It's open.

[laughing, chattering]

[men chattering]

Go, go, go.

Pretty girl.

You must. You must.

[Gregory] Imagine a pool three meters deep
and 15 meters in diameter.

Without any roof or covering
to protect Platon and the water

from direct sunlight.

It is impossible to say how soon Platon
will be boiled in this tub.

We know that belugas
sent to oceanariums in Iran

died within three months of their arrival.

The big question
that was beginning to nag at us

was where were all these belugas
coming from.

[program theme playing]

THE MAIN THING

From Chkalov Island come the first results
of an experiment in taming belugas.

The tiny island of Chkalov
in the Sea of Okhotsk

has become the world center
of beluga studies.

The animals are treated like babies

and are carefully placed in special cages.

To help scientists understand belugas,
Vladimir Putin came to Chkalov Island.

He helped to attach a special sensor
to a whale named Dasha.

Now Dasha's fellows on Chkalov Island
are participating in new experiments.

The belugas have been tamed by man.

[Gayane, narrating]
According to the media,

most of the belugas captured in Russia

came from Chkalov Island in the far east.

And all the reports of the capture process
made it seem like a good thing.

But Gregory Tsidulko had his doubts.

It's virtually impossible
to get close to the capture process.

No one knows
what goes on behind the scenes,

how the actual captures are done

and what's happening with the animals.

We cannot get any answers.
It's a closed book.

But according to what witnesses have said,

there are some horrible things going on.

Looking for information
about Chkalov Island,

I contacted a veterinarian
called Yevgeny Tagiltsev,

who lived in Vladivostok.

Tagiltsev had been sent to Chkalov Island
to select animals for a new oceanarium.

And he told me that he had filmed
the entire capture process.

[Tagiltsev] I was in charge of examining
the animals and making recommendations,

prescribing vitamins and other treatments.

[Gayane] Why were you filming all this?

Out of my own curiosity.

I've been taking photos
and making videos for a while.

Tagiltsev's film has never been shown
professionally before.

This footage will always stay with me.
I can show it to my friends and family.

[Tagiltsev] But now it's going public.

It's a record of human interactions
with animals.

It's what happens when humans
intrude on the animal's environment.

[man] We're launching the attack.

Full speed ahead.

We're circling with the nets.

Belugas are being caught.

They are mostly adults.

Not so many for us.

The nets have caught
a large family of belugas.

The adults, which are white,
are too expensive to transport,

so they are not wanted
by the marine mammal traders.

[man] We've caught you,
but we don't want you.

It's going to drag Andrei into the water.

[laughing]

We caught a beluga.
Now we're going to free it.

[man chattering]

[all shouting, laughing]

The babies, which are still gray,
are separated from their mothers.

Animals who are used to living in a herd,

swimming tens or even hundreds
of kilometers in a day,

living in a stimulating environment
among their families,

together with their mothers, sisters,
uncles and aunts,

with many generations
in one united family,

are suddenly caught
and placed in some pool or tank.

[man] This is how our work goes.

We managed to catch 20 belugas.

Here are nine gray belugas.

They're the right size.

We'll let the others go.

Belugas in Russia are supposed
to be protected by a quota system,

and inspectors are there to monitor and
control the numbers taken from the sea.

[Tagiltsev] He watches
to monitor the number of animals caught.

When we counted them, one was missing.

We lifted the net.
We saw one animal had died.

The photos and videos I gave you
show the postmortem.

There on the skin,

you can see the cuts from the nylon net.

It seems the animal tried to get free
and got caught by the neck and drowned.

Water was found in the bronchus,
which implies drowning.

It was an actual drowning.

The inspectors' only concern
is to make sure the quota is not exceeded.

But they often turn a blind eye
to all this.

They take money or caviar,
so they have no reason to report us.

And they cover up the matter.

When we've had a case like this
where an animal drowned,

we just dug a hole
and went out and caught another one.

[man, in Russian]
The boss called to congratulate everyone.

If things go on like this,
we'll all be millionaires.

[all exclaiming, laughing]

[man 2] Dream on. Maybe it will happen.

To everyone's health!

Before being sent around the world,

the belugas have to be trained
to eat dead fish.

PRIVATE PROPERTY!
NO ENTRY!

[man shouting]

Tagiltsev had more to show me
than his films of the capture.

Three hours from Vladivostok,

there is a temporary holding place
for belugas.

Having recently worked there,

Tagiltsev knew
how to get around the locked gates.

These dolphins are in small enclosures
not intended for so many animals.

Most of them are sick.

This is evident
from the spots on their backs.

It is not molting.
It is a fungal skin lesion.

The animal with the humped back
looks like it has pneumonia

and will probably die soon.

Three of them have died already.

They are kept in such horrible conditions
because they are simply a commodity,

purchased on Chkalov Island to be sold
to China or some other part of the world.

[Gayane] And who owns them?

[Tagiltsev] The company Dolphin and Me
owns these animals.

Doesn't Dolphin and Me
belong to Lev Mukhametov?

Yes. Mukhametov. Lev Michalovich.

We call him Hramich.

We're now going to the garbage dump
outside the town of Dunai.

Primorsky region.

A two-year-old baby beluga
that died of sepsis is buried here.

I dissected him under orders from my boss,

and we buried him here.

This is the path of the dolphin.

From the Sea of Okhotsk
to a garbage dump in Dunai.

Just break a little bit of ice
and you'll be a movie star.

That's him, isn't it?

No, stupid, that's not a dolphin.

[Gayane] It is. That's him.

[Tagiltsev] There are his eyes.

He was buried after the autopsy.

Why? Because we wanted
to keep the death a secret.

[Gayane] Does that happen a lot?

[Tagiltsev] Yes, constantly.

[man] Do I have to dig more?

Yes. He's not so big,
and we already did most of the digging.

- Can we have a smoke?
- Go ahead.

Tagiltsev hadn't just filmed
the capture and training

of the belugas on Chkalov Island.

He continued to film their transportation
to Vladivostok.

[whale vocalizing]

Beluga whales from the Okhotsk Sea

may now end up in Canada, Russia, China,

Japan, Ukraine, Israel, Iran,

the United Arab Emirates, Egypt or Spain.

[men chattering]

Dr. Maria Vorontsova
is the regional director

of the International Fund
for Animal Welfare.

[in English] Animals became a huge
source of income for the middleman.

Usually they are caught
by the local people,

and local people
get very little money on this.

And then there is a middleman
who made the big money.

And billions of dollars are involved
in the wildlife trade.

[Vorontsova]
I think that Russia became the main source

for the marine mammal trade in belugas,

in dolphins and now in orcas

just because we have all these resources.

[vocalizing]

[man] One beluga fell head downwards,

and she broke her fin
after she got on the ship.

[man chattering]

[man 2] Don't forget us, bitch!

[Vorontsova] Russia still has quotas

for most of marine mammals

which are not
in the Russian Red Data Book,

which are not protected.

And now the problem is that China,

as soon as it became a wealthy country,

it wants an oceanarium in every big city.

They are growing like mushrooms
in the country,

and they are buying
all these marine mammals from Russia.

Not everybody in China is happy
with the importation of marine mammals.

Dr. Samuel Hung is chairman of the
Hong Kong Dolphin Conservation Society.

[man, in English]
The dolphins that we have seen today

is called
the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin.

They are the pinkest dolphin in the world.

In Hong Kong, their number
has been dropping quite dramatically,

going from 158 dolphin in 2003

to only 62 dolphin just last year, 2013.

So we are quite worried
about the future survival of the dolphins.

You know, after studying the wild dolphins
for so many years,

you know that they belong to our ocean.

In the old days, people just catch them
and put them in a tank and study them.

But as we know more about their behavior,

we know those invasive technique
can actually harm your research.

The dolphins are not acting normally,
and then your research is biased.

Keeping marine mammals in captivity
is only for profit-making.

It's not about education.

You cannot educate people correctly
in a captive setting.

Chimelong Ocean Kingdom
is the largest marine park in China

and boasts one of the biggest collections
of captive belugas in the world.

[show announcer speaking Chinese]

[beluga character speaking Chinese]

[announcer continues in Chinese]

The biggest import country for captive
marine mammals from Russia is China.

[whales vocalizing]

So this is a terrible thing.

And I think the problem is beluga whales
doesn't live in captivity really well.

So when they die, you know,
they still have the pool.

So they want to import more
to sustain their business.

So that become a vicious cycle:

That some whale die
and then we catch more,

then just keep replacing the dead one.

[pop music playing]

[announcer continues]

[Vorontsova]
It's very important to understand that

marine mammals live in oceans

and go for the long migrations,

hundreds and thousands of miles.

They communicate there,
and that is their habitat.

There is no way that any oceanarium

can provide anything
similar to the habitat in the wild.

There's no way
they will not be suffering there.

It's a jail for them.

With the average life span
of a beluga in captivity

being less than a quarter
of its life span in the wild,

many marine biologists
question the morality

of keeping them in dolphinariums.

ALEXEI YABLOKOV

Alexei Yablokov is head
of the Marine Mammal Council of Russia.

[in Russian]
Dolphins and cetaceans in general...

are certainly wonderful creatures.

We don't understand them

and perhaps will not understand them
in the near future.

How can we understand a creature
with a brain much bigger than ours?

A brain with divisions
that other mammals lack.

Their pod structure is extremely complex,

more complex than for humans.

We have family and friends, for example,

but their social structure
is more complex than ours.

Their language
is more intricate than ours.

For them, solitude in an aquarium

is possibly one of the cruelest tortures.

It's very serious.

Very serious.

You would never know that the plight
of captive marine mammals was serious

from the upbeat advertising
put out by Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta.

[male announcer]
It's Broadway theater with dolphin stars.

Original music, amazing choreography

and soaring action.

Be part of something magical.

Only at the word's largest,
most magical aquarium.

Georgia Aquarium,
where imaginations go to play.

Buy tickets online today.

[Gayane, narrating]This was the place
which had put in the order

for the 18 belugas stranded in Utrish.

And while I knew
those belugas were not the ones

filmed by Tagiltsev on Chkalov Island,

I wanted to ask the aquarium

if they were sure that their animals
had been ethically captured.

I asked for an interview.

The request was declined.

Marine biologist Naomi Rose
has been party to the lawsuit

opposing Georgia Aquarium's attempt
to import the 18 belugas.

[in English] The government denied
the permit for the Georgia Aquarium.

They were not allowed
to bring in these animals.

And instead of accepting that
as appropriate under the law...

they challenged it.

And now we're in court
over this denial of the permit,

which was the appropriate
and proper decision.

[people laughing, chattering]

The main reason why we wanted
to prevent the import of these belugas

was to prevent the United States

from becoming a part of the market
for these animals.

In fact, in the year
following the permit application...

the number of belugas that were captured
in the Sea of Okhotsk doubled.

And the year after that, it doubled again.

So from 20, it went to 40.
And from 40, it went to 80.

It was very clear to us that the prospect
of the US becoming a market...

influenced the capture operators
to increase their take.

Georgia Aquarium deny that these captures
have affected the market

and say that belugas cannot
be successfully released into the wild

after a prolonged period of captivity.

[Rose] These particular animals
may not be salvageable.

We may not be able to save them.

If Utrish and the capture operators
are interested...

I believe that these animals can be
rehabilitated and returned to the wild.

[in Russian] Is this seawater?

Yes.
It's just like water from the Black Sea.

[Mukhametov]
And this is our darling Egor.

[man] Polar dolphin. Beluga.

[Mukhametov] Exactly.

This is Alla Azovtseva, Egor's trainer.

She's been working with him
for three years.

[“The Blue Danubeâ€.

Alla Azovtseva has been training belugas
for more than 20 years.

If anybody would know whether they can be
safely released from captivity, she would.

We found her in Crimea
where she was running a dolphinarium.

[PA: Pop music playing]

[vocalizing]

[no audible dialogue]

[female show announcer, in Russian]
Introducing our white polar whale,

Naomi.

[Gayane] What can you tell us
about the rehabilitation of animals

who have lived in captivity?

I've been working with animals
all my life.

I've been through all these opinions
myself

and I'm absolutely convinced of one thing.

Every animal
can rehabilitate fully in the wild,

because that is their home.

They will learn to hunt and communicate.

They will have only one danger:
Meeting with humans.

People often ask me,
“Do you think dolphins love you?â€.

Of course I would love to answer yes,
but think about it.

What kind of love are we talking about?

When we took them out of the sea by force
without their consent,

we wrenched them from their families.

And now we expect them to perform.

What kind of mutuality and love
are we talking about?

[Gayane]
But they look happy here. They're smiling.

Yes, actually they always look happy.

They have such happy faces.

[Gayane] So what motivates them?

Hunger. [Chuckling]

It's just the fish.

How about belugas? Are they very different
from bottlenose dolphins?

Of course. Yes, they are different.

They differ in the way that Italians,
for example,

differ from people from northern areas,
like Norwegians.

Dolphins are quick and emotional
and have split-second reactions.

While beluga whales...
I'm not saying they are impassive,

no, they are also emotional,
but in a different way.

They are also my great love.

How would you feel if Russia
passed a law to ban dolphinariums?

Happy. I'd be happy.

This isn't the communication with dolphins
I dreamt about when I was a child.

I really hope
my dolphins will meet a happy ending

and see the sea.

I dream about this constantly.

[low-pitched vocalizing]

- [laughter]
- [speaking Russian, indistinct]

[Gayane, narrating]
Tanya and I finally decided

that we had to see
some belugas in the wild for ourselves.

[chattering, laughing]

But they live a very long way
from any centers of human population.

It's a two-day trip from Moscow
to an island in the White Sea

where belugas gather to mate,
give birth and raise their families.

[seagulls squawking]

[no audible dialogue]

A. AGAFONOV
PROTECTED BY THE STATE

The Moscow Institute of Oceanology

and International Fund for Animal Welfare

sends research expeditions
to this island every summer.

Alexander Agafonov comes here
to study the language of belugas.

[man, in Russian] There are only
a few places in the White Sea

inhabited by pods of beluga whales.

[whales vocalizing]

They are very smart
and intelligent animals.

We even shy away
from calling them animals.

They have a wide range of acoustics,
a rich repertoire of sounds.

We even suspect their communication system
has correlations with human speech,

but this has yet to be proved.

[whales vocalizing]

Many people
have swum with belugas in captivity.

But very few, if any,
have ever swum with them in the wild.

[Tatiana] Everybody said, “Hey, girls,
you will never swim with belugas.

They don't like people...

and will disappear immediately.â€.

So as usual, we didn't expect to succeed.

We just did what we had come to do
and tried to enjoy it.

Because it's great
to get in the sea anyway

and know that they are close by.

[creatures vocalizing]

All the beluga whale sounds have stopped
on the hydrophone right now.

There's the background noise.

You can hear waves, some rustling.

So the hydrophone
is working 150 percent...

but the belugas have fallen silent.

[Gayane]
Do you think its because she's near them?

Well, it's the first and only time
it's happened.

So it's hard to say.

I understand why they hang out there.

The seaweed tickles their skin,
and they love it.

[Gayane] We're all amazed. Come here.

They all swam out,
and the current swept me away.

I went back to my childhood, and I was
singing a song about baby belugas

and calling for them
to come and swim with me.

And I was lying on the surface
with my monofin flapping,

and I looked down and she was lying there
looking up at me.

I tried to switch on my camera,
but the settings were all wrong.

She'd been watching me the whole time.

They like free divers.

When we got back to civilization,
belugas were in the news again.

In the Tula region, the emergency services
have saved the lives of two beluga whales.

[Gayane, narrating]
A driver, transporting two belugas

all the way
from the White Sea in the north

to the Black Sea in the south,

had called
the Tula emergency services for help.

We caught up with the firemen
who had responded to the call.

[in Russian] They had no covering.

The water in the tank was very shallow.

It was very hot.
They had been burnt by the sun.

They had dark spots on their skin.

The water was green...

and smelled horrible.

[Gayane] And their excrement was there?

Yes, everything was there.
Nobody had cleaned it out.

Did they reach their destination alive?

Nobody knows.

It's another 1,500 kilometers
from here to there.

It seems like the worst thing
that can happen to a beluga

is to end up
in the hands of a human being.

In 2013, more than half of the belugas
captured in the Okhotsk Sea died...

either during the capture operation

or while in temporary holding facilities.

The statistics for the numbers of belugas
which have died during transportation

or in oceanariums in Russia,
China and many other places

are not available.

But it is known that in the United States,

in just five oceanariums,

49 belugas have died prematurely
since 1992.

And in the last nine years,
five have died in Georgia Aquarium alone.

Are you concerned that no dolphins,
whales, porpoises

are going to be on display?

The primary concern right now is that,
if we don't prevail in this case,

the population of beluga whales
in accredited facilities

will eventually disappear in the US,

and that would have devastating impacts
to beluga whales as a species.

Because there's still so much
that isn't known about beluga whales,

and the knowledge that we can compile
by having them in accredited facilities

is so important.

But while we're learning,

while we as scientists
and marine biologists are learning,

we're also educating the public
about these animals.

Beluga whales are in trouble.

They are listed as near-threatened
by the IUCN.

Some populations
are critically endangered.

And our scientists are leading an effort
to find out why that is.

Are you confident
that the judge will overturn that denial?

I might defer that question
to our legal counsel.

I didn't hear the question.

Are you confident
that the judge will overturn the denial?

We believe that we have a very strong case
and she should do so.

The agency first decided...
that the permit application

met all the standards
of the Marine Mammal Protection Act,

and then they reversed themselves.

And they reversed themselves

because they said that the Sakhalin-Amur
population of beluga whales was in danger,

and it is not in danger.

Why would you say it's not in danger?

Can you just briefly tell us?

Yes. Because there are lists of endangered
species and this is not on it,

nor is it on a list of depleted species,

nor is it on a list of threatened species.

- Okay.
- Thank you.

[all chuckling]

[Gayane]
One question for Russian TV channel.

[man] I'm sorry, we're not speaking today.

Why?

We've given all the interviews
we're going to give today.

We have other matters
we have to attend to. We're gonna be late.

Just one small question?
Nothing more about belugas.

I'm sorry.

[Gayane] Okay.

[Rose] They are basically not acting
as a conservation organization right now.

They're acting
as an exploitation user group.

There's very few wildlife species
that thrive in captivity.

And as a marine mammal biologist,
I'm here to tell you

that cetaceans...
whales, dolphins and porpoises...

are at the top of the list of species
that do not thrive in captivity.

It boggles the mind, doesn't it,

to think that they might not know
how these animals were actually caught.

How could they have
gotten involved in this trade,

how could they have
gotten involved with these people,

how could they have applied for a permit
to import these animals

without knowing
exactly how it had been done?

So, my guess is that they actually
do know how it was done...

and don't care.

In fact, in the permit application,

they had photographs
of the holding pens at Utrish.

So they do know the conditions
under which these animals were being held.

In November 2015,
after the court's verdict,

Georgia Aquarium
made the following statement.

€œGeorgia Aquarium has decided
not to appeal the decision

handed down by Judge Totenberg.

We firmly disagree
with the judge's decision,

but a lengthy appeal process

would add to an already lengthy series
of legal proceedings,

which would not be in the best interests
of the animals in Russia.â€.

Shortly after Georgia Aquarium
issued their statement,

the man left holding the belugas,
Lev Mukhametov,

finally agreed to talk.

[in Russian] No one thought the animals
would get stuck so badly.

Usually they leave Utrish after six weeks
while negotiations are ongoing.

It never occurred to you

that the importation of these animals
into the US might be banned?

Of course not.
No one anticipated that at all.

They gave us money to expand our base.

Four large pools and a water intake
were constructed.

They sent money every month
to feed the animals

and pay the team that cares for them.

They gave full support.

How did you choose the belugas
for Georgia Aquarium?

We didn't choose them specifically.

We just received an order and caught them.

As usual, we caught them gray,

and now they are white
because they are adults.

There are no grays there now.

Why were journalists
not allowed access to the station?

That's what the Americans demanded,

and they've paid most of the money.

And how are the 18 beluga whales?
What condition are they in now?

They're in really good condition.

Have representatives from Georgia Aquarium
been to see them?

Yes, they visited three weeks ago.

It was during this visit that they told us

they were giving up
on their bid for permission.

They couldn't get an import permit
from the government.

So we have to figure out
what to do with them.

Did they say anything
about releasing the animals into the sea?

It's simply a question of money.

What I didn't know
at the time of this interview

was that at least one of the belugas
had already died.

Two months later,
Tanya was sent video footage and stills

by an anonymous sender
who claimed they were taken in Utrish.

And then Tanya heard that a caretaker
from the Utrish Station had resigned,

and she agreed to meet.

[in Russian] When I arrived in Utrish,

I saw them constantly moving...

like animals in a zoo, you know?

It is known as compulsive behavior.

Like when a tiger goes
from corner to corner without stopping.

It was the same way.
They were swimming in circles.

I remember asking why the container
was so small for eight animals,

for these females.

I was told, yes, it's tiny,
but it's a temporary solution

and they would be moving
to other aquariums with larger tanks.

Some material came into our hands.
We have it on a memory stick.

It has some horrible things on it.

[computer: Water splashing]

I suppose one beluga has died.

Do you know what happened?

I know this beluga.

That's Spot.

[Tatiana] How did it get those injuries?

I couldn't say for sure...

but it couldn't get them on its own.

It looks like the result of a conflict...

with other belugas.

In the wild, if there are conflicts,

the animal can always go away somewhere.

The sea is limitless.

[Tatiana] This is her grave.

Is it somewhere on the station's premises?

Yes, it looks like they buried it there.

[Tatiana] This is Utrish Station?

Yes. Those are some of the buildings.

The story kept getting worse.

Apparently this was not the first
of Georgia Aquarium's belugas

to die in Utrish.

[Rose]
According to Georgia Aquarium itself,

four of the belugas, out of the 18, died

during the years when Georgia Aquarium
was trying to acquire the import permit.

One of the whales, apparently,

was attacked by one of the other...
or many of the other animals.

And so we have a situation here

where it's possible
that belugas killed each other.

And you just don't see that in the wild.

You don't see that with orcas.
You don't see that with belugas.

You don't even see that
with bottlenose dolphins.

I believe that Georgia Aquarium

is completely responsible
for the fate of these animals.

They claim they did not capture them
and they did not own them,

but the fact is is that they ordered them.

After a year of refusing all requests
for an interview,

Georgia Aquarium finally agreed
to issue a statement for the film.

My name is Michael Leven.

I'm the chairman and CEO
of the Georgia Aquarium.

First let me say that the Georgia Aquarium
is committed to the beluga whale species

and has been since its beginning in 2005.

We believed that we could get a permit
from the government of the United States

to import a number of beluga whales.

After being turned down by a permit,

our people, our zoological experts,
visited Russia,

next to the Black Sea in a facility there.

We put a lot of money into the project,

dollars that amounted to over ten million
that we've spent on this project.

We care for our animals.

We will always care for our animals,

and we do a wonderful job with the experts
here at the Georgia Aquarium

who are devoted all the time
to the research, conservation,

education and entertainment
for the over two million visitors a year

that visit the Georgia Aquarium.

Tanya and I heard that seven of
the Utrish belugas had been sold to Japan

and that China had bought the rest.

We went back to Utrish
expecting to see the tanks empty.

But we counted six belugas
in the compound.

Whether they were
the original Georgia Aquarium belugas,

or newly captured ones, we didn't know.

But it seems that the business in Utrish
is still growing.

[Tatiana] That big tank is new, isn't it?

[Gayane] Yes. It wasn't here before.

Did you see anything in the big tank?

- Yes. I saw at least one.
- [video camera chimes]

[Tatiana] This wasn't the end I dreamed of
for this story.

I always believed
we would be able to free them

and they would go back to the sea.

[Gayane, narrating]
When we set out on the Black Sea in 2013

to celebrate swimming with dolphins,

none of us could have anticipated
where the story would take us.

[Gayane] The story of the 18 belugas

opened a door into the story
of the trade in marine mammals,

which is developing very fast in Russia.

An underwater world
in the center of the city.

The biggest oceanarium in Europe
has opened in Moscow.

One of the first visitors
was President Putin.

The Russian leader visited the exhibition
and talked to some kids.

WATER WORLD

The president shared his experience
of communicating with dolphins.

I swam with one.
It's nothing to be afraid of.

They are specially trained.

MOSCVARIUM

[Gayane] Everywhere in Russia,
new dolphinariums are opening

and in need of new animals.

The opening of the Moscvarium in 2015
was an event of national importance,

and there
I saw our familiar belugas again.

I saw orcas.

I saw dolphins.

One of the belugas
appeared to have a serious deformity.

Her body looked very unnatural.

We learned that this is usually the result
of violent capture processes.

At the same time,
they were claiming during the show

that the animals had been saved,

thanks to people.

[male announcer]We must save these
animals from their captivity in the ice.

Let's try to break this ice above us.

Yes! We did it!

See the belugas jumping out of the water.

Thanks to every one of us
who have saved their lives!

[female chorus] ♪Moscvarium
A fairyland of wonders of the deep ♪

♪ Moscvarium
The greatest, you will last for evermore ♪

♪ Moscvarium
I'm proud of your dream ♪

♪ it will always be as pure
And endless as the sea ♪

♪ it will always be as pure
And endless as the sea ♪

[applause]

[Tatiana]
If you are coming to a dolphinarium

because you want to see
your favorite creatures

and if you really love dolphins and think
this is your only chance to see them,

I'm telling you
there are other opportunities.

If you communicate with them in the wild,

you will get to know them so much better.

When you talk to people,

they don't understand at first
what is so bad about dolphinariums.

Dolphins are always smiling,
and they are always happy to see visitors.

They love it
when they get tickled and kissed.

But who says they enjoy it?

They are smiling
because their faces are fixed like that.

If somebody is in solitary confinement...

and is given nothing to do,

of course he would be glad
if someone came to visit him.

He just has no choice.

[Julia] The ocean is huge,

and dolphins dive down to 800 meters,

whales to 1.5 to two kilometers.

We know so little about it,
and that's what's so interesting.

Men try to go deep into the ocean
with their equipment and devices.

But everything we've learned is
a small fraction of what there is to know.

This is their world, their life,
and we can only come for a visit.

Freedom for modern people lies in
seeing themselves as the kings of nature.

I think man is not a king.
Man is a part of it all.

Man has no right
to destroy the harmony of this world.

I want to believe
our children will grow up

to see the idea of catching dolphins
and putting them in a cage

as an act of savagery.

Perhaps dolphinariums will cease to exist.

Gradually they will disappear,
and that would be the right thing.

[all exclaiming]

[vocalizing]