UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN ... - Bizjournals

Case 1:13-cv-03241-AT Document 1 Filed 09/30/13 Page 26 of 64E. The Collection of the Beluga Whales54. The beluga whales to be imported under the proposed permit were notcollected for Georgia Aquarium. When Georgia Aquarium submitted its permitapplication, these animals had already been removed from the wild under permitsissued by the Russian Federation and were part of a pre-existing Russiancollection. The collection was done under the supervision of the A. N. SevertsovInstitute of Ecology and Evolution, part of the Russian Academy of Science.55. The animals that were collected are owned by Russians, not byGeorgia Aquarium. The Russian Federation issues annual permits for thecollection of beluga whales from the Sea of Okhotsk and collecting entities can sellor otherwise dispose of the animals as they wish. Georgia Aquarium has nocontrol over the provisions, terms, or conditions of any collection permit issued bythe Russian Federation. Georgia Aquarium has no control over the number ofanimals a permit authorizes to be collected. Georgia Aquarium does not controlthe disposition of collected animals.56. Recognizing the need to increase the number, age and geneticdiversity of beluga whales in accredited North American public display facilities,Georgia Aquarium placed a non-refundable deposit with a Russian entity permittedby the Russian Federation to collect beluga whales so that the permitted entity26