Save the whales! Animal rights activists plead for help as Canada marine park threatens to euthanize dozens of belugas

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Animal rights activists are calling on Canadian authorities to save the lives of 30 beluga whales who are under threat of being euthanized by a defunct marine amusement park.

Once upon a time, up to 1.2 million visitors a year flocked to Marineland in Niagara Falls to see choreographed aquatic shows featuring orcas, belugas, dolphins and walruses.

But the park closed down in 2024 after years of controversy, scandals, and lawsuits, and is now threatening to kill its surviving 30 belugas by Tuesday if the federal government does not provide emergency relief.

Marineland bosses claim they have no other options left after the Canadian federal government refused an export permit to sell off its last whales to a Chinese amusement park.

“The gravity of the funding crisis at Marineland cannot be overstated; any further delay jeopardizes the welfare and security of the whales, and we fear we are running out of time to act,” said the company in a letter to Canada’s fisheries ministry.

“Our only options at this point are to either relocate the whales or face the devastating decision of euthanasia… [such an action] will be a direct consequence of the minister’s decision.”

The park closed down in 2024 after years of controversy, scandals, and lawsuits, and is now threatening to kill its surviving 30 beluga whales if the government doesn’t provide emergency relief (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

Wildlife campaigners dispute that, saying the company has a responsibility to look after the animals or sell them to a responsible owner instead of blackmailing the government.

Many called on the state government of Ontario to step in and seize the animals in order to prevent their deaths, recouping its costs from any future sale of the park.

Melissa Matlow of the Toronto non-profit World Animal Protection told The New York Times, “Threatening to kill all their animals if they don’t get emergency funding is just repugnant.”

Police officers block protesters from an entrance to Marineland grounds in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, in May 2023 (Alex Lupul/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canadian member of Parliament Chris Bittle likewise said: “Marineland’s position of ‘give us money or the whales get it’ is yet another example of their failure to take responsibility for years of mismanagement.”

“Marineland has reached a new, disgusting low — one which I didn’t think possible,” said Camille Labchuk, executive director of Toronto-based campaign group Animal Justice, on the social network X.

“Marineland is claiming poverty while sitting on half a billion (maybe more) in property value. They must be transparent about their finances, including offers of sale and negotiations.”

Others on social media were similarly scathing, describing Marineland’s behavior as “blackmail”, “heartbreaking”, and “abhorrent”.

A beluga whale surfaces from a tank to be fed by an employee at Marineland amusement park in Niagara Falls in June 2023 (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

Founded in 1961, Marineland has been repeatedly accused — including by its own former employees — of keeping its animals in inhumane conditions. According to CBC News, it has suffered 19 beluga deaths and one orca death since 2019.

Under severe financial pressure, park bosses wanted to sell its surviving belugas to the Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in China. But that would require permission from the Canadian federal government, under a 2019 law that banned all breeding and most exports of captive whales and dolphins.

Last Wednesday, Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson denied that request, saying: “These whales deserve a good home, but Chimelong Ocean Kingdom theme park was not it.

“I could not in good conscience approve the export of these whales for further exploitation. I would welcome all export requests that align with the Fisheries Act and would expeditiously review them.”

A dolphin jumps out of the water as it performs during a show at Marineland amusement park in June 2023 (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

Yet Marineland insists that there is no other facility capable of holding the belugas, apart from Chimelong. Whales raised in captivity generally can’t be released in the wild, because they lack key skills necessary to survive.

Plans for a whale sanctuary off the coast of Nova Scotia are still incomplete.

A spokesperson for Marineland previously told The Guardian that its whales “receive far better healthcare and around-the-clock attention than any human”. They claimed that animal rights activists had “sought to equate any animal death with alleged ‘abuse’ by the facility” — a notion Marineland dismissed as “propaganda”.

The Independent has asked Marineland for comment.