Marineland, the defunct amusement park in Niagara Falls, Ont., has told the federal government it will euthanize 30 captive belugas and four dolphins at the facility, unless Canada grants permission to ship them to the United States, CBC News has learned.
A team from the amusement park met with Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard Joanne Thompson Wednesday and presented export permits to ship the creatures abroad.
At the meeting, Marineland gave the federal government an “imminent” deadline to approve the permits, saying it would move forward with a plan it already has in place to euthanize the whales if the deadline is not met, a source confirmed to CBC.
According to the source, Marineland wants to send the whales and dolphins to Georgia Aquarium, Mystic Aquarium, Shedd Aquarium and a SeaWorld location.
CBC has reached out to all four U.S. facilities but only heard back from Georgia Aquarium and Mystic Aquarium. They both shared almost identical statements that stopped short of confirming a plan to accept the belugas and dolphins.
Canada’s Accredited Zoos and Aquariums (CAZA) invited a team of internationally recognized aquatic behavioral and veterinary experts to Marineland last week to observe 30 belugas currently living onsite, according to the two U.S. facilities.
The visit was an opportunity for experts from four AZA-accredited facilities — Shedd Aquarium, Georgia Aquarium, Mystic Aquarium and SeaWorld — to familiarize themselves with the belugas’ physical health and social dynamics, the statements read.
“To be clear, it’s premature for any U.S.-based facilities to formally commit to taking in the Marineland belugas,” Jennifer Sherman, Mystic Aquarium’s vice-president of marketing, wrote in an email to CBC News.
“The focus at this stage must be on the animals themselves. To that end, experts remain dedicated to using observations from last week’s visit to inform plans with the goal of providing hope and a future for these animals.”
Meanwhile, AZA says it has not been directly involved in recent discussions regarding potential transport of beluga whales from Marineland.
“These facilities [in the U.S.] are the world’s experts in the care and wellbeing of beluga whales,” Dan Ashe, AZA’s president and CEO wrote in a statement to CBC News. “Their assessment will provide essential information in evaluating potential rescue options.
“These same facilities helped lead the daring and successful rescue of beluga whales from Kharkiv, Ukraine, and those whales are thriving today at the AZA-accredited Valencia Aquarium, in Spain. A key ingredient in that success was partnership with the governments involved, and very swift and supportive permitting,” added Ashe.
Meanwhile, Thompson’s office confirmed to CBC that she met with Marineland, “at their request,” on Wednesday.
“During the meeting, the Minister was presented with new export permits. The Minister will review them expeditiously,” Erik Nosaluk, a spokesperson for Thompson, wrote in a brief statement sent to CBC News.
It’s the second time in four months that Marineland has threatened to euthanize the belugas and dolphins.
In October, the park told Thompson in a letter that it would be faced with the “devastating decision of euthanasia” unless the federal government could provide them financial support.
The letter was sent days after Thompson denied Marineland’s request for permits to send the whales to Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, a theme park in China, which was interested in buying the mammals. The government said then that it aimed to prevent the whales from being used for entertainment purposes.
On Thursday, animal right group Animal Justice urged the federal government to ensure any export conditions are consistent with Canadian law and guarantee the animals won’t be used for breeding if they are sent to the U.S.
“This is not simply about where the whales go,” said Camille Labchuk, executive director of Animal Justice. “It is about the quality of their lives once they leave Canada, and ensuring U.S. facilities respect our laws that prohibit breeding or exploiting these whales and dolphins in performances.”
At the height of the October threat, Ontario Premier Doug Ford blamed the federal government for the mess, while Ottawa said Ontario, which is responsible for the welfare of animals, should help.
The defunct amusement park has been the subject of controversy for years with animal rights activists and others vehemently opposed to its practices.
A federal law passed in 2019 that bans keeping whales, dolphins and porpoises for breeding or entertainment in Canada also stymied its business model.
Under that law, exporting these animals requires a special federal permit — something the fisheries minister can hand out if the animals are being used for scientific research or if keeping an animal in captivity elsewhere is found to be in its best interest.
Marineland closed its doors to the public in the late summer of 2024 as it tried to sell the swath of land it sits on near Horseshoe Falls. Its vast menagerie remains, including the belugas and dolphins, several seals and sea lions, bears and deer.
Twenty whales — one killer whale and 19 belugas — have died at Marineland since 2019, according to an ongoing tally created by The Canadian Press based on internal records and official statements.
CBC News has reached out to Marineland for comments but did not hear back.
But The Canadian Press says it has received a statement from the park confirming that it presented “a definitive and urgent rescue solution for the whales” directly to Thompson on Wednesday, but it did not provide details.
“This mission now hinges entirely on the minister’s immediate authorization,” the statement said.
“During the briefing, the minister expressed her clear support for a solution and is fully apprised of the critical, narrow window available to ensure the safe transfer of these animals to their new homes.”
