Why is it so hard to find new homes for Marineland’s 30 belugas?
Caught in political crossfire and facing possible death, the remaining 30 belugas at Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ontario have few options for relocation.
The now-closed theme park and zoo said in a statement last week that the whales face possible euthanasia after Ottawa rejected its application to export Chimelong Ocean Empire to China.
Federal Fisheries Minister Joan Thompson expressed concern that approving the export request could lead to the whales being used for recreational purposes. He said on Wednesday that he is fully prepared to consider other export requests and is in touch with the provincial counterpart about possible solutions.
While any application to export whales falls under the purview of the federal government, animal welfare is legally the responsibility of the province.
But Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he wants Thompson to reconsider his decision and help get the whales out of the country.
“Either they issue the permits and we find them homes, or they don’t issue the permits and they can work out a solution…,” Ford said Tuesday.
Expert says whales face certain death in the wild
As far as what those solutions might be, it’s complicated.
Andrew Trites, director of the Marine Mammal Research Unit at the University of British Columbia, said releasing belugas into the wild would be tantamount to a death sentence.
If they are put into a setting to which they have never adapted, they may be rejected by other animals and “looking at a life of starvation, loneliness.”
Another idea being put forward by some animal advocacy groups is to establish a seaside sanctuary where belugas could live in a fenced area in the ocean.
But no such protection has been established anywhere in North America.
However, in Klettsvik Bay, Iceland, there is a sanctuary run by the British charity SEA LIFE Trust. According to its website, the Beluga Whale Sanctuary was created “for the purpose of providing a safer and more natural home for beluga whales” and accommodates up to 10 belugas.
The sanctuary took in Little Gray and Little White females from an aquarium in Shanghai, China in 2020.
In 2020, female belugas Little Gray and Little White were released into a seaside sanctuary in Klettsvik Bay, Iceland, after arriving from an aquarium in China. The whales spent more than 90 percent of their time in a nearby indoor pool.
But since their arrival, both whales have spent more than 90 percent of their time in a nearby indoor pool, said marine biologist, professor at the University of La Laguna in Spain and co-author of the 2025 study, Javier Almunia. published letter On the sanctuary.
In an interview with CBC, Almunia said there are major challenges, including an oil spill in 2022 that polluted the bay and belugas showing signs of stress from living in an open water environment.
“Everything is different. The weather conditions are changing. The temperatures are changing.”
Is sanctuary best for whales in captivity?
The US-based Whale Sanctuary Project, a proposal for a site in Port Hilford Bay, NS, has been seen by some as a possible Canadian alternative to Marineland belugas.
Charles Winick, executive director of the project, said the cove could house eight to 10 belugas, which would cost $1.5 million to $2 million a year to operate.
He told CBC the project is currently funded by donations, has an upfront cost of $15 million, and could be operational by next summer.
“The kind of costs we’re talking about are much less than what it would cost to build another tank on land for a few cetaceans.”
But the project is on hold Due to a lack of consent from adjacent landowners and has not yet received federal or provincial approval.
Winick said not everyone agrees with the project, but Marineland’s situation “underscores the need for sanctuaries to be able to respond to the needs of closing marine parks, not only in Nova Scotia, but globally.”
Almuniya disagrees. He said that current research and technology are not needed to guarantee a better life to animals in a seaside sanctuary, and that “it may be an option for animals in 10 or 20 years. It is not an option for animals tomorrow.”
As for the Marineland case, Almunia believes the best solution is to send them to a traditional aquarium where they can enjoy the human care they are accustomed to.
“They are used to management , “The relationships with the coaches, with the caregivers.”
One solution to finding homes for the 30 Marineland belugas is to send them to a proposed whale sanctuary in Nova Scotia, but that development has been stalled since plans to build it were revealed in 2020.
Advocates cite moral obligation to save whales
Ford previously said it costs an estimated $2 million a month to care for the 30 belugas.
The Vancouver Aquarium is another Canadian facility that once housed whales in captivity. Its last remaining dolphin died in 2017 and a year later it said it would stop keeping whales and dolphins.
As to whether Marineland can take the belugas, the Vancouver Aquarium told CBC News it is “unable to accommodate these animals due to legal, regulatory and operational constraints,” and it has no room for them.
In a letter from the international charity World Animal Protection that was addressed to Ford on Monday, it said any whales that cannot be rehabilitated in Canada, in seaside sanctuaries or otherwise, should go to accredited facilities in the US or Europe where their welfare can be independently verified.
In the meantime, animal advocate Feel strongly that governments have a moral obligation to protect Marineland’s belugas from euthanasia.
Camille Labchuk, executive director of Animal Justice, said, “The province can seize the whales…” She added that “the federal government can make a decision on the permit, and together they can work to create a coastal sanctuary or some other suitable facility for the whales.”
