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Environmentalist and celebrity actor, Leonardo DiCaprio has helped end the ‘inhumane’ captivity of over 100 orca and beluga whales in Russia.
DiCaprio, who has invested in the plant-based company, Beyond Meat, and branded vegan meat as ‘the future’, urged his followers to sign an online petition for the release of the captured marine life.
‘Inhumane capture’
“Please sign this petition and join me in speaking out against the inhumane capture of orcas and belugas in Russia,” he tweeted.
The tweet, which gained over 31,000 likes and 14,000 retweets, is believed to have influenced Russain authorities’ decision to free the animals.
Dicaprio added: “Thank you to everyone who signed the petition. Let’s keep up the momentum and ensure that these whales are released back into the wild where they belong.”
Five baby walrus, 11 orcas, and 90 baby beluga whales were kept in ‘cruel’ conditions by owners who planned to sell them to Chinese aquariums, in what petitioners describe as a ‘whale prison’.
According to The Mirror, the companies responsible for breaking fishing laws will face charges against them from Russia’s federal security service, and authorities will begin the process of releasing the animals.
#Orcas & belugas are being held captive in small cages in a Russian bay. A winter cold snap is freezing the bay: the lives of these whales hang in the balance.
Sign & share to let Russian authorities know it’s time to free these whales before they die: https://t.co/h41DNM904b. pic.twitter.com/0op1rXxPt6
— Change.org Canada (@CdnChange) February 25, 2019
Vegan?
The Hollywood actor, who founded the DiCaprio Foundation, an organization dedicated to the protection and wellbeing of all Earth’s inhabitants, is not vegan himself.
It has been reported the Hollywood actor quit consuming beef to reduce his carbon footprint after watching the documentary Cowspiracy.
Co-director of the documentary, Keegan Kuhn, told PBN: “Obviously I want people to go 100 percent vegan – I think that’s where we’re going to see the greatest benefit to the planet, the animals, and to human health, but if they just make one step, one takeaway, that’s great and I encourage that.
“So not knowing DiCaprio’s personal life, not knowing his background, not knowing enough about where he’s at in his journey, it’s hard to say [why he isn’t vegan].”
