Marineland was a major destination for families with young children – but its reputation has crumbled over the years with ongoing protests from animal welfare activists
A Canadian sealife amusement park is threatening to euthanise 30 beluga whales unless the government allows them to be sent to China, or provides emergency funding.
Marineland in Ontario has endured mounting scrutiny over allegations the animals are living in poor conditions.
The park, which once attracted millions of visitors, did not even open for the summer season as it winds down in anticipation of a sale. It had hoped to transfer the whales to a theme park in Zhuhai, but the transfer was denied by the Canadian government over concerns they would face similarly substandard treatment as “public entertainment”.
The park then asked for federal funding to be able to continue caring for the animals – but that was also denied, being branded “inappropriate” by Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson. “All whales belong in the ocean, not in tanks for entertainment purposes,” she told reporters.
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In the absence of funding, Marineland said it may have to put the belugas to sleep, as “a direct consequence of the minister’s decision”, according to the New York Times and CBC News.
But Thompson has said Marineland’s lack of a viable alternative home for the belugas did not mean the Canadian government should foot the bill for their care.
Marineland hoped to send the belugas to Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in Zhuhai, which is located between Hong Kong and Macau in China. But Thompson said that the strengthening of fisheries legislation in 2019, which made it illegal to use whales and dolphins for entertainment, prohibited the move.
“I could not in good conscience approve an export that would perpetuate the treatment these belugas have endured,” she said. “To approve the request would have meant a continued life in captivity and a return to public entertainment.”
There have long been concerns – and criticisms – of Marineland, and in 2020 Animal Welfare Services opened an investigation into the park.
Twenty whales, 19 belugas and one orca, have died at the park since 2019, according to documents compiled by the Canadian Press – five of them in 2024.
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Animal welfare campaigners have expressed outrage at Marineland’s conduct and the possibility the whales could be killed.
“Marineland has spent decades profiting from keeping whales in miserable tanks, and is now sitting on hundreds of millions of dollars worth of property in Niagara Falls. Marineland has a moral obligation to fund the future care of these animals,” Camille Labchuk, lawyer and executive director of Animal Justice, said in a statement.
World Animal Protection, meanwhile, has called on the provincial government to seize the belugas, saying it “must show leadership and ensure these animals receive the best possible care”.
Under provincial law, Ontario has the power to seize the whales to ensure their safety – recouping any costs incurred when the park is sold.