The beluga which had been discovered more than a week ago in the Seine had to be euthanized during its transfer from a lock in the Eure to the port of Ouistreham (Calvados), announced the prefecture of the Normandy department.
“Despite an unprecedented beluga rescue operation, we are sad to announce the death of the cetacean,” announced the Calvados prefecture on Twitter, adding that it was euthanized.
“The veterinary expertise revealed the situation of great weakness and failing respiratory activity of the beluga. The decision was therefore taken collectively, with the veterinarians, to euthanize it”, added the prefecture.
Respiratory deterioration
On Twitter, veterinarian Florence Ollivet-Courtois explained that the cetacean had suffered a deterioration in its condition during transport by truck on Wednesday morning.
The NGO Sea Shepherd also confirmed the death of the cetacean. “It is with heavy hearts that we announce that the beluga did not survive the translocation which was risky, but essential to give an otherwise doomed animal a chance. Following the deterioration of his condition, veterinarians made the decision to euthanize him,” one read on Twitter.
>> Also listen to the explanations on the RTSinfo Instagram page:
A risky operation
The presence of the marine animal spotted more than a week ago in the Seine, when it usually evolves in cold waters, had caused a great stir, even beyond the French borders.
A seawater basin, in a lock in the port of Ouistreham (Calvados), had been made available to receive the animal. Spotted on August 2 in the river, the cetacean had been detained since Friday in the basin of a lock, located 70 km northwest of Paris.
The operation to bring it back to sea, if it was “out of the ordinary”, was not without risk for the animal, already weakened and sensitive to stress, recalled Isabelle Brasseur, from Marineland in Antibes.
An “indecent” rescue
“Every day, we crush thousands of living beings. Every day, we destroy ecosystems. And we don’t care, says oceanographer François Sarano, Wednesday in RTS Forum. It’s been forty years that we are harming the Planet. I therefore find it indecent that all of a sudden, we are giving such media coverage to this unfortunate beluga who got lost in the Seine.”
And to add: “We went to rescue this beluga, so let’s do the same with our fellow humans who are drowning in the Mediterranean!”
>> The full interview with François Sarano, oceanographer, in Forums:
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