The Canadian government and Marineland have reached a tentative agreement to relocate the marine park’s 30 beluga whales to aquariums in the United States and Spain, ending a long‑running dispute that included threats to euthanise the animals.
The federal fisheries ministry announced this week that all of the belugas would be shipped either to Oceanogràfic València in Spain or to one of four US locations – Georgia, Chicago, San Diego and San Antonio. A spokesperson for the US consortium said there was “no definite timeline” but the move could take “a matter of weeks”.
Advocacy groups described the plan as the “least worst option”. Kaitlyn Mitchell, a lawyer at Animal Justice, said in a statement that the animals had “languished in decrepit, deteriorating tanks while Ontario’s animal welfare agency failed to take meaningful action”. She argued that Canada “should be prioritizing sending as many of the animals as possible to sanctuaries”.
The decision is a setback for a proposed sanctuary in Nova Scotia that had offered to house the cetaceans. That sanctuary had also offered to take two orcas from France, but officials later sent them to a Spanish zoo.
Before any transport takes place, Canadian veterinarians will examine each whale to ensure it is fit to travel. The government said export permits “will be issued closer to the date of transport, pending final animal health checks”.
Mitchell expressed concern that the whales might not be healthy enough, noting that in a previous transfer to Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut, three out of five belugas died. She called for independent expert evaluations before any move.
