Canada conditionally approves plan to relocate Marineland

Canada’s last captive whales have received a death relief after the government on Monday conditionally approved a plan to export them to the United States.

Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson met Monday with officials from Marineland, the closed theme park and zoo in Niagara Falls, Ont., to discuss her proposed plan to move the animals south. The park is in talks with four American institutions to host its 30 beluga whales and four dolphins.

“It was a constructive meeting and I granted conditional approval for the export permits,” Thompson said in a statement posted on social media Monday. “I will issue final permits once the final required information is received from Marineland.”

Marineland pleaded with the minister, repeatedly telling her the park was running out of money. The park had told Thompson that the animals would be euthanized if export permits were not authorized by Jan. 30, according to a letter he wrote to Marineland on Monday that was obtained by The Canadian Press news agency.

Marineland said in a statement that it has Thompson’s support in relocating the animals. “We extend our gratitude to the minister and the Canadian government for prioritizing the lives of these remarkable marine mammals,” he said.

The move comes after Marineland submitted what it called an urgent bailout solution to the federal government last week.

The park is reportedly in talks with the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut and SeaWorld, which has several locations in the United States.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford supported Thompson’s decision.

“They’re going to have a better home than what they have because they’re in a terrible home right now,” Ford said of the animals. “It wasn’t big enough.”

Twenty whales (one orca and 19 belugas) have died at Marineland since 2019, according to an ongoing count created by The Canadian Press based on internal records and official statements.

In October, Marineland applied for export permits to move its beluga supply to Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, an aquarium in China. Thompson denied those permits, saying he would not subject the whales to performing in captivity in the future.

This is consistent with a 2019 law that banned the captivity of whales and dolphins, although Marineland’s animals were protected.