Kasya’s YouCare rescue, the female dolphin trapped in a bankrupt dolphinarium in Tehran

Link to embed this video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGUIPFvsfs4

Kasya, the female dolphin locked up in the bankrupt dolphinarium of Milad Tower (Tehran), has finally been able to get out of this hell ! After a year of great efforts, mediation and unsuccessful attempts, the team of three associations managed to transport Kasya to another delphinarium in order to release her into its original habitat. We’ll explain it to you.
Kasya was alone after the premature death in January 2020 of Alpha, the other dolphin she lived with. After a year of great efforts, mediation and unsuccessful attempts, an international team, gathered thanks to the petition launched by YouCare, managed to get Kasya out of this hell.

It all started when the YouCare team, a French association dedicated to the protection of the planet, came across a video where we could hear the cries of distress of Kasya, locked alone in her pond.

Link to embed this video : https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PZK4YXw047W4eLSqu1OVQaO9nObak9Ni/view?usp=sharing

The Petition :

A petition for her release was then launched on change.org, by the YouCare Association. It quickly gathered together more than 70,000 signatures around the world. As a result, a few days later, the owner and the Iranian government allowed Kasya to leave the country.
This petition also enables the world learn about Kasya’s history. After its publication, an Italian association, La Ninna Hedgehog Recovery Center, represented by Massimo Vacchetta, rapidly contacted YouCare to participate in the rescue operation.

The Rescue :

A Russian organization first offered its help to take charge of Kasya. The idea was to build a quarantine pool on the shores of the Baltic Sea, in order to give her time to rest and get used to the temperature of the water, with the aim of releasing it later in her natural environment. The Russian authorities were then inclined to transport Kasya from Iran. Unfortunately, the situation quickly became complicated with the coronavirus pandemic, and the authorities finally retracted.
Even worse : the delphinarium in Tehran where Kasya was still standing was short of money, the heating and filtration systems of her pond threatened to stop at any moment: many structural damage were already visible. Kasya seemed destined to be abandoned and to die alone in a bankrupt delphinarium.
For many months, the international team made up of YouCare, a French association represented by Thomas Moreau, La Ninna Hedgehog Recovery Center, an Italian association represented by Massimo Vacchetta, and Save the Bears of the Moon, an Italian association that joined the project a few months later, represented by Carmen Aiello, worked tirelessly to save Kasya.
Ten months after the petition was launched, the team finally managed to get Kasya out of this hell. After lengthy negotiations, another delphinarium agreed to take charge of her until a definitive solution was found for her release. It was necessary to find an airline ready to transport the dolphin.

Kasya finally landed on Kish Island in the Persian Gulf on January 13, 2021. She is now in her new pond among other dolphin friends. Her days are no longer in danger. The team is now working on a workable plan to release Kasya.

It is important to know that releasing a dolphin is a particularly rare and complex operation. This requires a lot of preparation at extremely high costs.

YouCare Kitty :

A first kitty was opened by the YouCare Association in the summer of 2020. At the end of this kitty, €4,260 was collected, including €500 thanks to the Réseau Cétacés association. €1,000 has already been spent to finance the manufacture of the quarantine pool. As the project was abandoned, the YouCare association did not send any further payments.
The remaining €3,260 will be used to finance Kasya’s final flight, just before releasing her. This operation is currently being prepared and is scheduled for summer 2021.

The other costs of the project were financed by the two Italian associations.

In order to make the most of their respective networks, the YouCare Association is responsible for raising funds on the French territory and the Italian associations, in Italy.

A new press release will be published shortly to give more details about Kasya’s last trip, before being released into her natural environment.

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Thanks :

In addition to the work provided by the three associations involved in this rescue, this operation could not have been possible without the support of :

– Amir Shirazin, Iranian veterinarian, director of the “Caspian Seal Preservation Center”.
– Ivan Zatsepilov, Russian veterinarian and official Kasya healer on site.
– Venera Gumerova, American volunteer very involved in this rescue.

 

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