Marineland is having a fire sale on belugas
For animal rights activists, the theme park can’t shutter fast enough
Marineland, Canada’s once-beloved aquatic animal park, has been floating on its last fins for a while now. In 2019, the federal government passed Bill S-203, the Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act, which banned the use of cetaceans—whales, dolphins and porpoises—for breeding or entertainment. Then came the pandemic, which tanked attendance at the park, and the growing recognition that keeping giant animals in relatively tiny enclosures is a massive moral failing.
Marineland closed its gates after its summer 2024 season, listing its Niagara Falls property for sale and beginning to sell off its rides. Now there’s just one problem. Okay, make that 30 giant problems.
According to a report from the CBC, Marineland recently applied for a permit to export all 30 of its belugas. A Chinese theme park called Chimelong Ocean Kingdom has confirmed it is interested in the purchase, but the transaction requires the sign-off of the minister of fisheries.
Enter World Animal Protection Canada, an animal rights organization that says this “fire sale on whales” is an abdication of responsibility from government. “Belugas are not commodities. The risk of them being auctioned off to the highest bidder—possibly shipped overseas to facilities with equally low standards and continually bred for the animal entertainment industry—is real, and it’s unacceptable,” says WAPC executive director Colin Saravanamuttoo.
The group has called for the acceleration of a seaside sanctuary project currently being planned in Nova Scotia that would provide a high quality of life for captive whales. In the meantime, they want Doug Ford to clarify the province’s role in Marineland’s ownership and oversight.
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Nineteen belugas have died at Marineland since 2019. In a statement to the CBC, Ontario’s Solicitor General’s Office said animal welfare inspectors have visited the park more than 220 times since 2020, conducting “regular inspections of Marineland to ensure compliance with standards of care.”
Courtney Shea is a freelance journalist in Toronto. She started her career as an intern at Toronto Life and continues to contribute frequently to the publication, including her 2022 National Magazine Award–winning feature, “The Death Cheaters,” her regular Q&As and her recent investigation into whether Taylor Swift hung out at a Toronto dive bar (she did not). Courtney was a producer and writer on the 2022 documentary The Talented Mr. Rosenberg, based on her 2014 Toronto Life magazine feature “The Yorkville Swindler.”
