Actress turned animal rights champion Pamela Anderson has urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to speed up the release of over 100 orcas and belugas from a pen dubbed the ‘whale jail’ by activists.

The cetaceans are stranded at a facility located in a bay near the city of Nakhodka in Russia’s Far East, and were apparently earmarked for sale to foreign buyers. Their capture and imprisonment may violate Russian law. Putin last week ordered a swift investigation into the situation, which is meant to be completed by March 1.

Anderson, the former star of Baywatch who holds a senior position at the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), called on the Russian president to speed up the release of the aquatic animals in an open letter.

Letter to President Vladimir Putin https://t.co/4m3MjYl0LQ — Pamela Anderson (@pamfoundation) February 24, 2019

“I understand that the Russian Government has taken initial steps toward the release of these magnificent creatures back into the wild, in their home waters of the Russian Far East. I am very grateful for this news,” she wrote. “I understand that a final decision has not yet been made to release the orcas and belugas back into the wild, and I respectfully ask that you resolve this by ordering their release.”

She added that Russia had already shown leadership by stopping the sale of the orcas and belugas, and that releasing them into the wild would be “welcomed around the world.”

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