Beluga Whale Euthanized During Attempted Rescue From River Seine

Storyful
1 年前

A Beluga whale stuck in the River Seine, France, had to be euthanized during a rescue attempt on Wednesday, August 10.

Footage shared by the marine conservation organisation Sea Shepherd shows the rescue in the early hours of Wednesday. The Beluga can be seen swimming in a lock in the River Seine in the Eure department of France.

Netting is used to pen the Beluga, which is then lifted out of the river and transferred to a truck.

Local media reported that the plan was to transport the animal to the coastal city of Ouistreham, but that a decision was made to euthanize it during transport.

Florence Ollivet-Courtois, a veterinarian with the Sapeurs-Pompiers 91, said in a video published to the prefecture of Calvados Twitter page that the decision to euthanise was made after the whale stopped breathing during transport.

“The suffering being obvious for the animal, we decided that it was not relevant to release it and that it was necessary to proceed to its euthanasia,”, Ollivet-Courtois said. Credit: Sea Shepherd via Storyful