Marineland says 30 of its belugas may have to be euthanized. How can this even happen?
If you can’t give them up, sell them, or send them to a sanctuary, what will you do?
While Marineland has no current plans to euthanize the 30 belugas swimming around what remains of the Niagara Falls amusement park, The company had threatened to do so last week In a letter to Canada’s federal Fisheries Minister Joan Thompson that was obtained by CBC News.
Marineland said in a letter that unless the federal government could provide them with financial assistance, the park would face the “devastating decision of euthanasia.”
The message comes days after the minister rejected Marineland’s request for a permit to ship the whales Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, a theme park in China that was interested in purchasing the mammals. The government said the aim was to prevent whales from being used for recreational purposes.
So far, Marineland has not been able to find any suitable sanctuary or other facility to house the whales. theme park owner A report said The proposed Nova Scotia sanctuary is too polluted and is not on track to be developed any time soon.
Marine mammal experts say that if threats to euthanize belugas became reality, the alternative would come with many logistical and ethical issues.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans has rejected Marineland Canada’s request to export its 30 remaining beluga whales to China’s Chimelong Ocean Kingdom theme park. This decision is in line with rules to protect marine mammals from exploitation.
Veterinarian says euthanasia drug is problematic
Veterinarian and marine biologist Chris Harvey-Clark says that for animals like Marineland that are used to being examined by veterinarians, euthanasia is usually a two-step process.
First, veterinarians must give the whales a sedative to ensure they do not feel any pain during the procedure, and then administer a drug that will end their lives.
“He is ofof industries The gold standard method for euthanasia,” said Harvey-Clark, who is also affiliated with the Whale Sanctuary Project in Nova Scotia in an advisory role.
But Harvey-Clark says the life-ending drug used is a barbiturate, which causes other problems after the procedure.Ure done. Medicines can leach into groundwater if animals are buried, or kill scavenging animals. Food for whales if left to rot.
And a total of 30 whales, each weighing between one and two tons, leaving plenty of whales to dispose of.
Andrew Trites, Director of the Marine Mammal Research Unit at the University of British Columbia In Vancouver, it has been said that in many cases the whales are considered too large to be cremated, making the method of disposal difficult.Alt too.
And because he spent his life in captivityWitty, Trites says, the whales may not know how to hunt for food, so releasing them in the wild is not an option.
ethical issues
Both Trites and Harvey-Clark caution that there are also several ethical hurdles to potentially euthanizing the whales.
Euthanasia is an Alternative VeterinarianWhen an animal is suffering and the end of their life is near, they feel morally okay, Harvey-Clark said.
In cases where death is not imminentNow, he says peacockNot all choices are so straightforward.
“You really need to look at the welfare of the animal – what its life is going to look like, and what its future is going to look like, and from that, you know, make an intelligent … decision whether that animal should be humanely euthanized or is there another path,” Harvey-Clark said.
the current19:17The fate of Marineland’s beluga whales
Marineland wanted to send 30 of its captive beluga whales to an amusement park in China — but the federal government stopped them. And with the once-iconic amusement park closing its doors, the question of what to do with the whales and who should have responsibility for them remains unclear. w
beyond that, there are belugas Highly social and skilled at communicating with each otherWhich allows them to form close bonds with other whales. Harvey-Clark says losing the whales one by one would likely be something that would benefit the belugas, who could then suffer harm before ultimately being killed.
“They’re certainly aware enough to understand that the environment they’re in is changing really rapidly, and that’s going to be really stressful,” Harvey-Clark said.
Trites says that since animals are usually killed when they are sick, there may be some experimentation when it comes to the exact dosage for euthanizing a whale.
“None of these (euthanasia processes) seem like something I or anyone I know would want to engage in,” Trites said.
Trites says he hopes the threat will never go away, and that the whales can find a home where they can live a good life and contribute to further research on belugas, which face increasing challenges due to climate change.
He said, “But ultimately this threat can become a reality if no one moves any of their pieces on this chessboard.”
