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Euthanizing Beluga Whales Is 'Blustery Threat': Ex-Marineland Employee
The Canadian government cited animal welfare laws to deny export, risking euthanasia of 30 belugas as Marineland faces financial and care challenges, with 20 whales dead since 2019.
- On Oct. 9, 2025, Marineland threatened to euthanize its 30 beluga whales if the federal government did not provide emergency funding, and it did not respond to requests after the deadline passed.
- Financially strained Marineland faces falling visitor numbers and ongoing animal-welfare scrutiny, reducing revenue and forcing it to give up care of its whales.
- A 2020 Animal Welfare Services probe found 12 whale deaths over two years and noted distress among remaining marine life, while twenty whales have died since 2019 at Marineland.
- Ontario officials blocked the transfer to Zhuhai's Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, citing concerns over public spectacle, while Canadian Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson denied the export permit and said she would review new requests expeditiously.
- Animal-Rights groups condemned the threatened euthanasia and Marineland had secured court-approved remortgage to finance relocations while seeking a buyer for the whales.
17 Articles
17 Articles
Euthanizing Beluga whales is 'blustery threat': Ex-Marineland employee
(NewsNation) — A Canadian theme park says it may have to put down 30 Beluga whales, but not everyone is buying it. Last Friday, park management wrote to the federal government requesting a cash infusion by the end of the Tuesday. Though the deadline has passed, the money has not arrived. A former Marineland whale trainer, Phil Demers, said this is "just blustery threats because they're angry." Demers told NewsNation the alleged anger stems from …
The Government of Ontario states that all remaining Marineland beluga are still alive.
Shuttered Canadian Marine Park Warns It May Euthanize 30 Beluga Whales, Prompting a Global Outcry - Inside Climate News
The uncertain future of 30 beluga whales still living in tanks at Marineland—a shuttered aquarium and amusement park in Niagara Falls, Ontario—has drawn global outcry from animal rights activists this week after park officials warned they may euthanize the animals without immediate financial aid from the government. “The idea that one would consider euthanizing them […]
Winnipeg Free Press
Marineland's belugas are alive after euthanasia deadline passes, Ontario says
Breaking News, Sports, Manitoba, Canada
Canada's Marineland says 'if we don't get aid, we may have to kill our whales'
Canada's Marineland theme park, which closed last year, says it may have to euthanize its remaining 30 beluga whales if they don't receive emergency funding from the government. Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson said the government isn't responsible for Marineland's expenses, noting it didn't plan for the whales' future.
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