Last Updated on 06/09/2024 by Arun jain
Beluga whale Suspected of being a Russian spy has been shot dead, two animal rights groups claim.
Two defense groups filed a police report on Wednesday An animal named Hvaldimir was killed by gunfire, NBC News reported.
However, officials told the US outlet that a definitive assessment from the autopsy could take up to three weeks.
Hvaldimir was first spotted in 2019 by fishermen not far from the Arctic town of Hammerfest.
The whale was wearing a harness that read “Equipment St. Petersburg”, lending credence to the theory that it may have been trained by Russia as a “spy whale”.
Beluga was very friendly He was found dead last weekend A city in the southwest of Norway, in the port of Stavanger.
Almost immediately he was found dead, rumors spread and the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries ordered an autopsy.
On Wednesday, OneWhale and NOAH said there was “compelling evidence suggesting Hvaldimir’s death was caused by a deliberate human-inflicted injury”.
The groups shared photos of the whale’s lifeless body with blood splatters and holes, and claimed that initial findings suggested the whale was killed by a gunshot.
NBC News said it could not independently verify the nature of the apparent injuries.
“Several veterinarians, biologists and ballistics experts have reviewed the photographic evidence, including close-ups of Hvaldimir’s injuries,” their statement said.
“Their assessments strongly suggest that the whale’s death was the result of a criminal act, signaling the need for immediate police involvement.”
OneWhale founder Regina Hough told NBC News that “the whale was a strong, capable and hard-working animal known and loved with a very gentle, sweet and cuddly personality”.
After seeing Hvaldimir lifeless, she added: “It felt like my heart fell into my stomach. The pain of losing him to a senseless murder is a pain that seems impossible to heal now.”
Norway’s Sør-West police issued a statement on Wednesday confirming that they had received a report of the groups and would consider whether an investigation was needed.
The Norwegian Veterinary Institute told NBC News in an emailed statement Wednesday that Hvaldimir’s autopsy is still ongoing and that they could not yet comment on the results.
“We, together with Norway’s Fisheries Directorate, are in contact with the police ahead of the autopsy, and will certainly involve them if we find anything that suggests anything suspicious,” the statement said.
“The Norwegian Veterinary Institute has a lot of experience working with forensic cases.”
Post A Russian ‘spy’ whale was ‘shot’ appeared first The Telegraph.