{"id":222414,"date":"2025-10-18T14:38:16","date_gmt":"2025-10-18T14:38:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/222414\/"},"modified":"2025-10-18T14:38:16","modified_gmt":"2025-10-18T14:38:16","slug":"marinelands-30-belugas-wont-survive-outside-captivity-experts-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/222414\/","title":{"rendered":"Marineland\u2019s 30 belugas won\u2019t survive outside captivity, experts say"},"content":{"rendered":"

Marine mammals held in captivity more than two years or born in captivity for public display should not be released into the wild, Fisheries and Oceans Canada says, as the fate of Marineland\u2019s 30 beluga whales hangs in the balance.<\/p>\n

The financially troubled Niagara Falls, Ont., amusement park, which did not open to visitors this year, threatened to euthanize its whales earlier this month unless it received government financial support, because it can no longer afford their care.<\/p>\n

Animal Welfare Services confirmed the 30 belugas were alive as of Tuesday, said Brent Ross, a spokesperson for Ontario\u2019s Ministry of the Solicitor General, in an email.<\/p>\n

Jason Etok, who grew up in Nunavik, urged<\/a> Inuit leaders to step in and help provide habitat for the belugas, suggesting they could be released in Hudson Bay, Ungava Bay or the St. Lawrence River.<\/p>\n

Inuit organizations have not responded to that suggestion.<\/p>\n

The federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans is responsible for authorizing the live capture and release of rehabilitated marine mammals into the wild.<\/p>\n

In 2018, the department provided scientific advice on criteria that should be analyzed before marine mammals being held in captivity are released into the wild.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Based on that criteria, Marineland\u2019s belugas should not be released, said Tomie White, communications adviser for Fisheries and Oceans.<\/p>\n

Animals held in captivity cannot hunt for themselves when released back into the environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey lack the necessary skills for finding food and avoiding predation,\u201d White said in an email.<\/p>\n

As well, captive animals released into the wild may carry pathogens or diseases that could infect wild populations. They could also\u00a0introduce harmful genetic anomalies to wild populations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is of particular consideration for at-risk species that may co-inhabit in the wild,\u201d White said.<\/p>\n

Marineland has also determined the belugas won\u2019t survive in the wild because of complex factors, the Niagara Falls Review reported this week.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Nonetheless, Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati said he\u2019s received calls from all over the world about what to do with the whales.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of interest in making sure that we can find a soft landing for the beluga whales,\u201d Diodati said in a phone interview.<\/p>\n

Money is the primary issue, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very expensive to feed and to care for these whales. We\u2019re told by Marineland it\u2019s a million dollars a month.\u201d<\/p>\n

Diodati said the belugas\u2019 fate is not a municipal issue, but he\u2019s engaged in finding a solution.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what responsible humans do, they take care of things,\u201d he said. \u201cI believe there\u2019s no such thing as innocent bystanders.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said he hopes the whales end up at a sanctuary where they can be cared for and studied.<\/p>\n

Federal Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson encouraged Marineland to work with the Province of Ontario after denying a request to relocate the whales to an amusement park in China.<\/p>\n

The provincial government can intervene, remove the animals and ensure they receive proper care, under the Ontario Progressive Animal Welfare Services Act.<\/p>\n

The provincial government said Animal Welfare Services has conducted more than 240 inspections at Marineland since 2020 and that the federal government is responsible for signing off on permits to relocate the whales.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have done our part, and inspectors continue to ensure that Marineland meets the province\u2019s strict standards,\u201d Ross, with the Ministry of the Solicitor General, said in an email Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Nunatsiaq News contacted Marineland for comment, but did not receive a response as of Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Marine mammals held in captivity more than two years or born in captivity for public display should not…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":196686,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[49,48,295,66],"class_list":["post-222414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=222414"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222414\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/196686"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=222414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=222414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=222414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}