Controversy Erupts as Canadian Marine Park Considers Euthanizing 30 Beluga Whales

A Canadian amusement park is threatening to euthanise 30 beluga whales after the government blocked its request to send them to China.

Marineland in Ontario had hoped to offload the cetaceans on a theme park in Zhuhai, after suffering years of animal welfare concerns and financial woes.

But their transfer was denied by the Canadian government last week over concerns they would face similarly substandard treatment as 'public entertainment'.

The park then asked for federal funding to continue caring for the animals - but this was denied, being branded 'inappropriate' by Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson.

In absence of funding as it winds down operations, Marineland has now said it may have to put the belugas to sleep, according to the New York Times and CBC News.

It reportedly said this was 'a direct consequence of the minister's decision'.

The park is said to have informed ministers that it was in a 'critical financial state' and unable to provide adequate care for the whales, having been closed over the summer while it removed the animals still there.

However, Thompson stated that Marineland's lack of a viable alternative home for the belugas did not mean the Canadian government should foot the bill for their care.

Marineland had hoped to send the belugas to Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in Zhuhai, which sits between Hong Kong and Macau in China.

Thompson denied its export permit, citing the strengthening of fisheries legislation in 2019 that made it illegal to use whales and dolphins for entertainment as the reason.

I could not in good conscience approve an export that would perpetuate the treatment these belugas have endured, she said.

To approve the request would have meant a continued life in captivity and a return to public entertainment.

Criticisms of Marineland date back several years, with Animal Welfare Services investigating the park in 2020.

It found that 12 whales at the park had died over a two-year period, declaring all the park's marine life to be under distress.

Since 2019, around 20 whales have died at the marine park, and five of them in 2024 alone, according to news agency the Canadian Press.

As visitors to the park began to plummet and Marineland fell into financial distress, it recently won an appeal to remortgage its land to fund moving its animals while looking for a new buyer.

Animal welfare campaigners have expressed outrage at Marineland's conduct and the potential euthanasia of the whales.

Camille Labchuk, executive director of Canadian animal rights group Animal Justice, said Marineland had 'a moral obligation to fund the future care of these animals', adding that threats to euthanise were 'reprehensible'.

World Animal Protection has called on the provincial government to seize the belugas, stating it 'must show leadership and ensure these animals receive the best possible care'.