There’s a hostage crisis underway in Ontario, involving victims you might not expect: 30 innocent beluga whales.
Reporting by The Guardian this week revealed that Marineland of Canada Inc, a for-profit aquatic theme park, is threatening to euthanize one of the largest captive whale populations in the world. Unless, that is, the Canadian government steps in to save the park from financial ruin with taxpayer dollars.
Marineland has been plagued with financial woes over the past few years, including quite a bit of debt. Instead of opening its doors to visitors this year, it was revealed that the company would begin rehoming its critters in preparation to sell the park.
For years, conservationists have watched in horror as Marineland’s animals suffer in captivity. According to the Associated Press, some twenty whales have died under the company’s watch over the last six years alone — nineteen belugas and one killer whale, Kiska, described as the “world’s loneliest Orca” before her death in 2023.
However revolting Marineland’s track record might be, the fate of the remaining 30 belugas may not be entirely its fault. The company’s rehoming efforts began in earnest in 2023, with the park lobbying the government of Ontario for help.
When Marineland found a suitable home for the captive belugas on their own — the Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in China — Canada’s fisheries minister Joanne Thompson stepped in to deny the transfer. As the AP reported, Thompson cited a 2019 marine captivity law in her denial, saying the transfer would “perpetuate the treatment these belugas have endured.”
While the continued captivity of the 30 belugas may not be ideal, the die has unfortunately been cast, largely by a Canadian government which allowed Marineland to grandfather its critters in, avoiding the 2019 law prohibiting exploitation of whales and dolphins.
The fisheries minister also has yet to explain what criteria it uses to judge what’s in the “best interest” of the belugas, and how life in the crumbling Marineland park would be preferable to transfer to an accredited facility abroad.
As far as Chimelong goes, there’s plenty of reason to believe it would be a suitable location. For one thing, Marineland’s managers cite it as the only facility in the world with the capacity to house 30 beluga whales — a Canadian effort to build a $20 million whale sanctuary in Nova Scotia has been sputtering since 2020.
Meanwhile in China, Chimelong has a reputation for breeding and conserving critically endangered aquatic species, such as the West African manatee, as well as the threatened arctic breed of beluga whale. It maintains a three-part research hospital in keeping with Chinese wildlife protection laws, consisting of a veterinary facility, marine rehabilitation lab, and an aquatic life-support system.
At the time of writing, the whales are still alive and well — though for how long remains unknown.
More on ocean life: Experts Alarmed as Jellyfish Spawn in Freshwater Lakes