Animal rights groups criticize Lotte aquarium
Animal rights activists call for Lotte World Aquarium to stop displaying beluga whales, a threatened species, in front of the second Lotte World complex in southern Seoul, Oct. 16, claiming that having the mammals in an aquarium infringes on their rights. / Yonhap
Row over threatened animal at Lotte aquarium
By Lee Kyung-min
The newly opened Lotte World Aquarium has been facing a backlash from animal right activists for exhibiting three “near threatened” beluga whales (delphinapterus leucas).
The cetacean is on the red list of threatened species of the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Since Oct. 16, animal rights groups such as the Coexistence of Animal Rights on Earth, the Korean Animal Welfare Association (KAWA), and Hotpink Dolphins have been staging a protest at the front gate of the second Lotte World leisure complex in southern Seoul, urging citizens to boycott the aquarium, which is part of the complex.
The three whales were imported from Russia. The groups claimed the Russian government has capture more than 3,000 wild beluga whales in the last four years to earn money while commercial whaling of the species is banned due to fears of its extinction.
“The whales do not exist for people to watch,” KAWA president Jo Hee-kyung said.
She said Lotte’s interest in profit making is at the center of this issue, saying the company is making money at the expense of the freedom of the mammals.
“The mammals are there because someone bought them and kept them confined there. Why else should they be there, when their real home is out there deep in the ocean?” Jo said.
Jo added that the government is also to blame for not regulating the exhibition of endangered species, referring to what other developed countries do about the issue.
“Some developed countries such as England and Austria ban the keeping of whales in aquariums. And many other developed countries are well aware that animal rights are just as important as human rights. But in Korea, there is no law banning the import of or fishing for whales. The government should act fast.”
However, aquarium officials say the whale exhibition is in line with regulations.
“We did nothing illegal,” said Park Mi-suk, the public relations team manager of Lotte World.
The current law does not ban imports of any specific animal, and what matters is the purpose of the import, she said.
“The law allows the import of whales if it is for education and zoological studies of the species. And we are planning to conduct studies about beluga whales and present the results at an academic conference,” Park said.
Jo criticized Lotte’s claim, saying money is the hidden purpose.
“What they do is commercially use the animal in the name of study. The whales were fine the way they were in the ocean without any human help,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) said the case was different from that of Jedol, a dolphin released back in the ocean on July 18 last year, which was held captive for performances at Seoul Grand Park.
“Jedol was managed by Seoul Grand Park, run by the city government, so we could make the decision then. But this is a transaction between Russia and Lotte,” an SMG official said.
Regarding the issue, a Ministry of Environment official said, “When granting or rejecting the import request, whether the animal is threatened or not is not a condition we consider.”