By Rich McKay ATLANTA (Reuters) – A U.S. court hearing on Friday on the fate of 18 beluga whales captured in Russia pitted federal regulators against the Georgia aquarium seeking to bring them to the United States. U.S. environmental officers have said moving the whales to the United States would hasten the depletion of the wild population and violate the Marine Mammal Protection Act. “No matter how you slice the data,” the whale population can’t handle the losses from capture for display in zoos and aquariums, said Clifford Stevens, a lawyer for the government.
Georgia court weighs destiny of 18 captured beluga whales
