Life in the state of nature is “nasty, brutish and short,” according to English philosopher Thomas Hobbes.
That’s why 30 captive-born beluga whales at the Marineland amusement park in Niagara Falls, Ont., should be set free — maybe in Canada’s northern waters — rather than be put down like a sick, old dog.
For weeks, people around the world have been captivated by the plight of the last whales living at the financially troubled tourist attraction that says it can no longer afford to keep them.
Canadians’ values have shifted and people have lost interest in packing up the family and driving across the country to see whales swim around in a fish bowl.
A news story by our Nunavik reporter Dominique Gené exploring the possibility of moving the whales is one of the most widely read Nunatsiaq News articles of the year. As of Thursday, more than 36,000 people had clicked on it — two-thirds the combined population of Nunavut and Nunavik.
Jason Etok, an Inuk man originally from Nunavik, wrote to Nunatsiaq News last week, suggesting the whales — that were bred in captivity — be relocated to the waters of Hudson Bay, Ungava Bay or the Gulf of St. Lawrence, belugas’ natural habitat.
A long shot? Definitely. Impossible? No, according to the director of the Nunavik Marine Region Wildlife Board.
Hopefully it’s not too late by the time you read this to bolster the case of Etok’s idea.
The argument against releasing the whales is that they wouldn’t survive because they were born in captivity. All their lives, thy’ve been in a tiny concrete tank, surrounded by people who could reach out and pet them, and having food supplied by human trainers.
Maybe it’s an overly simple idea, but if the belugas were released, they would at least have a chance at survival.
Activists say it’s inhumane to keep whales in captivity because they are highly intelligent animals. If they’re that intelligent, who’s to say that they wouldn’t be able to adapt to the change of living in the wild?
If they die in the wild, well … a lot of animals don’t survive in the wild, where life can be nasty, brutish and short. If they’re left at Marineland, their certain deaths appear to be imminent.
Someone should ask the whales about the choice between being euthanized or taking their chances on being released into the wild and having to fend for themselves.
Another argument against releasing the whales is that they would be vulnerable to predators, including, possibly, Inuit hunters. Again … life can be nasty, brutish and short.
The biggest argument against relocating the whales is the cost. Marineland pleaded for the federal government to pick up the bill for taking care of the whales for the rest of their natural lives. Ottawa said Marineland is a private business; the cost is its problem.
No question Marineland has botched the handling of its belugas. But the government comes to the aid of other private companies when they go belly up and can’t afford to take care of loose ends as they wind down.
Inuit organizations that Etok said could lead a solution (think Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, Makivvik Corp., or Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.) have deep pockets. Chipping in on the relocation of Marineland’s belugas could be Inuit-led lessons to all Canadians about the respect for wildlife and that life doesn’t have to be nasty, brutish and short.