This file photo, provided by Hot Pink Dolphins, shows the civic group protesting in front of the aquarium in Lotte World Mall in southern Seoul, demanding the discharge of the last white whale Bella on Dec. 16, 2022. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Oct. 24 (Korea Bizwire) – Civic groups called Tuesday for the release of Bella from Lotte World Aquarium in Seoul, in the latest appeal to send back the only surviving female beluga whale to her natural habitat.
Hot Pink Dolphins, a marine environmental group, along with four civic groups denounced Lotte World for not keeping its word to free the white whale, claiming it has “neglected its corporate social responsibility.”
Lotte World imported Bella with her two male peers from Russia in 2014 for education and research when it opened the aquarium. But activists claimed that the import was for profit.
The two male whales died in 2016 and 2019, respectively, at the age of 5 and 12, far below the 40-year average span of beluga whales.
Lotte World has since vowed to send Bella to a wildlife sanctuary in a move for her eventual release into her natural habitat.
“No living creature exists for the pleasure of others and their lucrative business,” said activist Na-yeong, an activist at Hot Pink Dolphins.
The civic groups also urged Lotte to come up with plans to build a sanctuary for the beluga abroad, or transfer Bella to sanctuaries in Iceland or Norway, where they have expressed interest in accommodating more white whales.
In 2021, the theme park business unit of Hotel Lotte Co. said it was in contact with a whale sanctuary in Iceland, and planned to talk with sanctuaries in Russia and Canada.
Lotte World Aquarium chief Koh Jeong-rack said during a parliamentary audit on Oct. 12 that they plan to discharge the endangered oceanic creature by 2026 into a foreign sanctuary.
(Yonhap)
