Mystic Aquarium has agreed to delay its acquisition of five beluga whales for research amid a lawsuit by an animal rights group trying to stop the delivery. Court documents filed last month in federal court in Hartford say Mystic Aquarium will not import the whales before March 31 to allow time for a judge to decide the lawsuit. Friends of Animals filed the lawsuit in September. They say the five belugas would be harmed by the trip from their current home at a Canadian aquarium in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Mystic Aquarium says it has a safe, healthy and spacious environment for the new whales.
