TORONTO (AP) — Canada’s authorities endorsed a plan Wednesday to maneuver the final remaining captive whales from a shuttered theme park in Ontario to aquariums in the US and Spain — a plan that would save them from mass euthanasia if the deal goes by way of.
There are 30 belugas and 4 dolphins left within the Marineland park and zoo in Niagara Falls, Ontario, which introduced in early 2023 that it was on the market and closed to the general public in late summer time 2024. No sale has but been introduced.
The previous vacationer attraction has since labored to maneuver the park’s remaining animals and promote the sprawling property close to Horseshoe Falls.
In 2024, Marineland was discovered responsible underneath Ontario’s animal cruelty legal guidelines in a case associated to its care of three black bears.
The Division of Fisheries and Oceans has issued the primary batch of permits to maneuver the whales and is ready to subject totally different permits nearer to the transfer, anticipated to happen within the subsequent few months. It lately issued permits for the whales and dolphins underneath the Conference on Worldwide Commerce in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, in any other case often known as CITES permits.
“I feel it is a constructive step ahead,” Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson mentioned. “There’s nonetheless extra work to be carried out, nevertheless it’s a step ahead.”
Twenty whales — 19 belugas and one killer whale — have died at Marineland since 2019, in line with provincial authorities information obtained by way of freedom-of-information legal guidelines and official statements.
Thompson’s workplace mentioned the ministry is coordinating with the Canada Border Providers Company, Well being Canada and different ministries to “guarantee all necessities are met for a protected and well timed switch.”
Marineland mentioned it’s “totally dedicated to the protected and well timed relocation of our beluga whales, and we wish to be clear: that is our high precedence.”
“Relocating these animals is an awfully complicated endeavor,” the park mentioned in an announcement.
The Canadian authorities has not determined whether or not it’ll present taxpayer {dollars} to assist transfer the whales.
The belugas and dolphins are set to go to 5 marine parks: Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, SeaWorld areas in San Antonio and San Diego, and Oceanografic Valencia.
Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut, the place Marineland despatched 5 belugas to in 2021, may even assist with the transfer, the American consortium mentioned.
Marineland’s founder, John Holer, died in 2018. His spouse, Marie Holer, took over operations of the park and put it up on the market in 2023, earlier than she died in 2024.
The property has been working since to dismantle the park, which options roller-coasters and different rides.
This article by Related Press was first printed by Mongabay on June 2026. Lead Picture: Beluga whales swim in a tank at Marineland amusement park in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, June 9, 2023. Chris Younger, The Canadian Press through Related Press.
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