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ACTIVISTS GET INSIDE "WHALE FARM"Following an investigation by a group of wildlife protection activists what has been described as a "Whale Farm" has been discovered close to the villages of Mikberg and Spitwald. Yesterday a group of activists managed to force entry onto the site and filmed their searches and the conditions inside. In total the search discovered 90 Belugae Whales, 16 Orcas and 12 pilot whales. The animals were kept packed in pools, some of which had begun to freeze over. The creatures were also discovered to be covered in skin lesions and flipper deterioration caused by contact with the sea ice, furthermore many seemed to be suffering from hyperthermia. One marine biologist who we showed the footage collected to stated, "In the wild the animals deal with the temperature change by moving on their migration routes, this keeps them in regions where the water temperature is bearable but also helps them keep warm by moving. They have barely enough room to swim in a straight line and so have little chance of living anything near a normal existence."
Originally it was believed that the farm was being used as a way of supplimenting the annual pilot whale hunt that takes place in Mikberg and Spitwald however paperwork shown in the footage taken by activists shows that at least some are being scheduled for sale. One document was written in Seleucid and was details for the sale of an Orca for a private aquarium owner meanwhile a pair of Beluage Whales seemed destined for a theme park in Lodja. Our marine biologist explained, "Whales while providing valuable food for our people in harsh winters can also be very profitable, I believe a Orca can be sold for around $3million while a Beluga Whale fetches around $200,000. If we look at this farm we can imagine it being a multi-million dollar operation."
The whale farm was being operated by Teraval Fisheries who stated, "This was an experiment to see if large scale whale farming is possible. We have seen other nations pull off similar schemes with Tuna and other species of Marine life. We realise that the farm experiment is hitting a sensitive period and we are learning we've made mistakes. The actions today by these wildlife terrorists endangered our workers and the animals. We naturally comply with all legislation regarding the captive farming of Whales and all other food standard laws. We shall also now having heard expert opinions, be making changes to our farming operations."
The Ministry for Farming and Fisheries stated, "We have no system in place to licence such farms, but then we have no licences for most fish farms which is as similar as we can think of. This seems to have been done clandestinely in order to avoid the attention of activists. In the coming days we shall be exploring the legal stances open to us in this regard."
Local Police were called to the farm and 16 arrests made for the crimes of trespass, criminal damage, threatening behaviour and assault. Those accused are expected to attend court for charges to be formally read in the morning. Film Star Krista Rosendahl-Sunbrek, who is a local ambassador for the Wild Mundus Organisation, has stated that she intends to pay the legal fees of those who have been arrested stating. "Whales and species like them have been shown time and again to be highly intelligent creatures. They are threatened in the wild and now we are essentially imprisoning them halting their natural life. They play a vital part of the oceans ecosystem and this is a huge problem. The hunt this year needs to be postponed and the practice halted altogether."
The Head Gothi waded into the debate following the actresses statement saying, "I agree that the way these creatures is being treated is unacceptable, Odin would not like to think of a majestic creature destroyed in such a manner. Miss Rosendahl-Sunbrek however is wrong, the practice of whale hunting is an age old tradition, something that makes Nya Åland the wonderful nation it is. It fills an important social, economic and cultural role within our society. This year I can understand a case for postponing the hunt as it was always controlled via a quota and while not familiar with the numbers in most years the number of whales imprisoned seems high, I believe they should be included in the quota to ensure we do not overfish, so to speak, the whales this year."