Marineland Canada’s 30 beluga whales, including four recently transferred to Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium, faced an “imminent risk” of euthanasia before their relocation, according to Andrew Burns, a longtime adviser and legal counsel for the now-closed aquatic park. Speaking from Toronto on Wednesday, Burns described the situation as a pressing crisis driven by mounting care costs and limited housing options for the whales.
Burns stated that since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Marineland exhausted all available financial reserves to maintain and rehoused the belugas. He confirmed that no additional whales are scheduled to leave Marineland this week but indicated that the goal remains to relocate all the animals by August 31. To ensure animal safety, Burns declined to provide a specific timeline for the remaining transfers.
The belugas’ transfer to U.S. aquariums began Monday, with six whales departing Marineland: four bound for Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and two to SeaWorld in San Antonio. The complex operation involved partially draining a pool, carefully placing the whales in slings, and transporting them by truck to Toronto Pearson International Airport. From there, they flew aboard a Boeing 777 to their new homes. Precautions included pilots maintaining gentle takeoffs and landings to avoid distressing the whales.
Marineland, located in Niagara Falls, Ontario, has been closed to the public since 2004. Opened in 1961, the park has long faced allegations of animal mistreatment and declining visitor numbers. Last year, the facility sought permission to ship the belugas to a theme park in China, but Canadian authorities denied the request, ruling the relocation was not in the whales’ best interests. Subsequently, Marineland presented Canadian officials with two options: move the whales or euthanize them. Burns indicated that the monthly expense of caring for the belugas is approximately CAD 1.5 million (about USD 1 million).
Burns expressed strong criticism of Canadian animal rights groups advocating for a beluga sanctuary off the coast of Nova Scotia, describing such proposals as unrealistic. He argued that despite nearly two decades of public discussion, no functional sanctuary capable of housing whales has been established. “It’s a great idea, but it’s like saying we should go to Mars,” he said. According to Burns, Marineland’s priority is the practical and immediate care of the animals rather than what he terms “fanciful ideas.”
Conversely, animal welfare advocates maintain that Marineland profited from keeping cetaceans in confined tanks while failing to provide for their welfare properly. Camille Labchuk, executive director of Animal Justice, a Toronto-based animal law advocacy group, stated that Marineland should use its considerable wealth to support sanctuaries currently in development, including the Nova Scotia site. Labchuk and others have raised nearly half of the estimated CAD 15 million needed to establish a sanctuary.
Some advocates have criticized Marineland’s portrayal of euthanasia as an imminent risk, calling it a “manufactured crisis” designed to prompt government approval for shipping the belugas abroad, where they fear the animals may be bred in captivity. Burns countered these concerns by noting that beluga birth control methods do not exist and criticized the activists’ position as ideologically driven rather than based on the animals’ welfare. He contended that preventing breeding would undermine natural social groupings and family bonds among the whales, which typically live in long-established groups.
Burns praised the cooperative efforts of the Shedd Aquarium and other U.S. facilities for stepping in at a critical time to provide refuge for the belugas. He emphasized the importance of real-world solutions in the animals’ current circumstances, highlighting the urgency and complexity of managing the transition for the beleaguered marine mammals.