Marineland asks federal government for permission to export remaining belugas

Marineland, the now-closed amusement park and zoo in Niagara Falls, Ont., has applied for permits with the federal government to export all 30 of its belugas, according to a federal government official who is familiar with the file.

On Tuesday afternoon, Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson confirmed "it's on my desk. I will make the decision shortly. It will absolutely speak to the health of the whales."

Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, a theme park in Zhuhai, China, told CBC News that they are still deciding whether or not to purchase the whales.

For the first time in Marineland's 60-year history, outside of COVID-19 closures, the park did not open for its season this year, raising concerns about the future of the animals that remain there.

Nineteen belugas have died at the park since 2019. The remaining orca, Kiska, died in 2023. 

WATCH | Marineland staff seen caring for whales in drone footage: 

Drone footage shows Marineland staff caring for remaining belugas, dolphins

September 23

Staff members at Marineland were seen in late July feeding, petting and interacting with the belugas and dolphins that remain at the now-closed theme park in Niagara Falls, Ont.

CBC News captured drone footage at Marineland in late July and observed about a dozen staff feeding, petting and interacting with the animals. 

Under Bill S-203, the Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act, which came into law in 2019, the use of cetaceans — whales, dolphins and porpoises — for breeding or entertainment is illegal in Canada. 

The export of cetaceans is also illegal, unless the Minister of Fisheries issues a special permit for the purpose of scientific research or, "keeping the cetacean in captivity if it is in the best interests of the cetacean's welfare to do so."

No cetacean export permits have been issued in Canada since May 2021, when five belugas from Marineland were sold to Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut. Three of the five died, of various health conditions, within two years of the move.  

'Not as simple as calling FedEx'

Andrew Trites, director of the Marine Mammal Research Unit at the University of British Columbia, says the health of the whales would be a key factor in determining whether they could travel.

"There would be assessments done both with blood work, looking at feeding records to make sure the animal's been feeding consistently, any signs that the animal might be off for any reason." 

CBC News sent multiple requests to Marineland for more details about its request to export its belugas, but the park did not respond. 

A statement from Ontario's Solicitor General's Office said inspectors with Animal Welfare Services "conduct regular inspections of Marineland to ensure compliance with standards of care," and have visited the park more than 220 times since 2020. 

If Marineland's applications are denied and the whales are to remain in the park, Trites says their care would be costly.

"You need engineers to maintain water quality, pumps, filtration. You need veterinarians to monitor their health and make sure that they are healthy and stress free," he said.

Trites noted that Marineland also needs animal care staff who train the animals, prepare their food and interact with them on a daily basis to make sure they are both mentally and physically healthy.

If the belugas are approved for transport, Trites says there's a protocol to follow.

"It's not as simple as just calling up FedEx and say, 'Hey, I've got a shipment for you overnight, please.' A lot of planning has to go into it because nobody would want anything to go wrong." 

LISTEN | What should happen to Marineland? 

Ontario TodayMarineland: Is it time for the government to step in?

Our guest for the first half hour is Phil Demers, a former Marineland trainer and now anti-captivity advocate. We also hear your calls about what you'd like to see happen at the park. 

A test of the act

John Holer, who founded Marineland in 1961 and turned it into a popular tourist attraction, died in 2018. His wife, Marie Holer, took over ownership after his death. She died last year. 

It's unclear from public records who currently owns Marineland. At a Feb. 18 Niagara Falls city council committee meeting, the theme park's lawyer, Tom Richardson, said the corporation had not yet been sold.

Camille Labchuk from Animal Justice, a national animal law advocacy organization, says this upcoming decision on Marineland's applications is a good test of the 2019 act. 

"The government is going to have to grapple with the question of is it in the interests of these whales to be sent to potentially another aquarium where there could be exploitation all over again, there could be breeding all over again, there could be entertainment shows.

Labchuk would like to see the whales go to a seaside sanctuary funded, at least in part, by Marineland. No sanctuary of this kind currently exists in North America and a proposed project in Nova Scotia has stalled due to lack of consent from land owners. 

On the question of whether the belugas could be released in the ocean, Trites says putting them in a wild setting, which they are not adapted to, is not a viable option.

"They get rejected by other animals and they're really looking at a life of starvation, loneliness," he said. "Ultimately, it's a death sentence."