Dear friends,

I am happy to tell you that the situation around the “whale jail” came to an end. All of the orcas, whales, belugas were released, and our petition achieved its goal.

Today, after almost a year of collaborative action and an active campaign, I am happy to declare our victory! I want to use this moment to thank all of you for your support along this path, and for your contribution to this victory. Thanks to our joint efforts, there is no more "whale jail".

Together, we saved a hundred of orcas and belugas!

I remember the moment when I, while being desperate, created this petition to tell the world about the “whale jail”. Back then, I could not even imagine that 1.5 million people around the globe would sign my petition and take such an active part in my campaign. You participated in online actions, in the processes of writing appeals to local authorities and departments, you reposted the shocking videos from the “whale jail” to your personal social media accounts. I could have never expected Leonardo DiCaprio to sign my petition and urge everyone to join the campaign on Twitter. I could not even think that Jean Michel Cousteau would respond to my cry for help and that I would personally meet his team, that would fly to Srednyaya Bay.

Unfortunately, it was not possible for all of the animals to wait to be released from the icy cramped prison. This should be a reminder to the whole world and to those who are behind the capture: whales are not a commodity. And this should not happen again.

It was an incredible year, but I want to emphasize once again - it would not have been like that if it weren't for you, all the petition signers, volunteers and activists who took part in the campaign. We would not have won, if not for the active position of each of you.

This victory is actually only the beginning of our struggle for marine mammals in Russia. We have to face a lot of new challenges. We already know that a “walrus jail” has now appeared in Srednyaya Bay - and these animals must be saved, too. It is important for us to do our best so that the case of the “whale jail” never happens again. We need to achieve a ban on catching whales. But this is the topic for a new petition, and I am asking you to support it with your signatures as well.

For now, I declare victory and close the collection of signatures to this petition, but as I said, this is not the end of the campaign for saving the marine mammals. I will continue to publish updates and will continue to keep you informed. I will need your support as before! I really hope that together we will achieve many more victories.

Thank you, Anastasia