‘Russian Spy’ Whale Was Shot Dead, Animal Rights Group Claims

Hvaldimir, the beluga whale who was suspected of being a Russian spy, has been shot dead, animal rights groups OneWhale and NOAH have alleged.

“We want justice,” the conservation group OneWhale told Newsweek. The group has filed a report asking the Norwegian police to open a criminal investigation into the animal’s death.

The white beluga appeared off the coast in Norway’s far-north Finnmark region in 2019 and was nicknamed “Hvaldimir”—a portmanteau of the Norwegian word for whale, hval, and the Russian President Vladimir Putin.

A fisherman first spotted the 14-foot, 2,700-pound beluga in April 2019 near Norway’s northern island of Ingøya. He was wearing a harness that appeared designed to hold a camera, along with a buckle marked “Equipment St. Petersburg,” which fueled speculation that he was a Russian military spy whale.

He was found dead on Saturday on the country’s southwestern coast.

The organization OneWhale was created in 2019 with the specific mission of protecting Hvaldimir and “advocating for his future in the wild with other belugas.”

In a statement shared on its website, the group confirmed it has “filed a police report in connection with the tragic death of Hvaldimir, the famous beluga whale known for his friendly demeanor and alleged ties to Russian naval operations.”

Regina Haug, the founder of OneWhale, told Newsweek: “We want justice for Hvaldimir, for his killing and whoever killed him. He was killed by somebody brutally.”

“There is a bigger issue that we were struggling with for five years and that is misinformation being spread about the whale the entire time during his life. Especially toward the end of his life, [misinformation was spread] by people who wanted to keep the whale in harm’s way so that they could monetize him, have him remain in need, and deny him his chance to get to safer waters and join other belugas. And people were really successful in roadblocking that.”

Haug said that the police have an obligation to start investigating immediately. “His death truly should have been reported the minute he was pulled out of the water.”

Haug contested claims the whale had died naturally. “It was lying,” she said. “I saw the bullet holes and the bullet sticking out of his body, and there’s no way you could mistake that for anything.”

“We expect the police to investigate now,” she said.

It was initially reported that the autopsy of Hvaldimir would be conducted by the Norwegian Veterinary Institute. Newsweek reached out to the institute, which confirmed that the case is now a police matter.

Newsweek has contacted the Norwegian police via email for comment.

OneWhale had advocated for Hvaldimir’s relocation as it believed he lived in an area that exposed him to “danger and poor animal welfare.” It cited a “risk of accidents involving the public.”

Haug spoke to Newsweek about the dangers facing the whale community. She said: “Our organization was created strictly for the protection and care advocacy for Hvaldimir, but in the five years we’ve been doing this work, we’ve gained an incredible amount of knowledge and experience with advocating for animals, and we’ve seen a lot of atrocities around the world that are still happening.”

“Sometimes you have to make personal sacrifices,” she said, noting the importance of people and governments “making changes that protect our oceans and the animals in the ocean.”

Do you have a story Newsweek should be covering? Do you have any questions about this story? Contact LiveNews@newsweek.com.