The head of the Odesa Regional Prosecutor's Office, Serhiy Kostenko, said that since February 24, 2022, 95 dolphins have died in the region, and the prosecutor's office is conducting an investigation under Art. 441 (ecocide) of the Criminal Code.
So far, experts have taken samples from 6 corpses and sent them to specialized institutes in Italy and Germany, which should give an answer about the causes of death of animals, reports UNIAN.
"But we understand that their [dead dolphins] much more," said Kostenko.
Relevant documents were also sent to Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey, where the facts of the death of dolphins were also recorded.
The investigation believes that the dolphins died due to the mass use of sonar (sonar) on Russian warships. It is likely that these devices damage the hearing organs of the dolphins, and this leads to their death.
Biologist of the National Nature Park "Tuzliv estuaries" Ivan Rusev told that as a result of the use of sonar devices (sonars), powerful sounds are created, which negatively affect the health of animals. When dolphins fall into the radiation zone of ships' navigation devices, it disables their navigation and echolocation organs.
He also noted that the sea throws ashore no more than 5% of all dead animals. The remaining 95% goes to the bottom of the sea, which makes it impossible to register them.
As EcoPolitic previously reported, the prosecutor's office in the Odesa region opened criminal proceedings on the fact of ecocide, namely, the mass death of dolphins that has been going on for half a year in the Black Sea due to the military aggression of the Russians.
