OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Canada’s last captive whales will remain at the Marineland park near Niagara Falls for now after the federal government denied the zoo’s request to ship the 30 belugas to China.
The Canadian government will not grant an export permit to send the whales to the Chimelong Ocean Kingdom aquarium, Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson said Wednesday. She said the decision is consistent with a 2019 law making it illegal to use whales and dolphins in entertainment shows or keep them in captivity.
“All whales belong in the ocean, not in tanks for entertainment purposes,” Thompson told Parliament Hill reporters on Wednesday morning.
Twenty whales — one killer whale and 19 belugas — have died at the Niagara Falls, Ontario, tourist attraction since 2019, according to a database created by The Canadian Press news agency based on internal documents and official statements.
Thompson said what happens next to the whales rests with Marineland.
Marineland said it is “profoundly” disappointed by the federal government’s decision.
“Following several years of work to find a permanent home for our belugas, the humane relocation to an accredited facility abroad was the only viable option to ensure our beloved whales remained alive and received the care they deserve,” the company said in an email.
Marineland added the decision “condemns these magnificent animals to an uncertain future at a closed facility, with no ability to pay for their continued feeding and care.”
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he was disappointed the federal government would not sign off on the animals’ move. “We need a proper home for them, simple as that,” he said. “We gotta save the whales.”
Thompson said she agreed that “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,” she added.
Marineland announced it was for sale in early 2023 and closed to the public in late summer 2024. It did not open this year as it looks to sell the park and the vast swath of land it owns near Horseshoe Falls. No sale has yet been announced.
The law that banned whale captivity did not apply to the existing population of captive whales at Marineland, but the park had to comply with another part of the law that forbade breeding.
