Another beluga dies at Marineland, Ontario saying little on 4-year probe into park

Another beluga whale has died at Marineland and four years into a provincial probe, Ontario's solicitor general is saying little about the investigation's progress.

Another beluga whale has died at Marineland and four years into a provincial probe, Ontario's solicitor general is saying little about the investigation's progress.

The latest beluga death is the fourth in the past year, provincial records show. Since 2019, 16 belugas and one killer whale have died at the Niagara Falls, Ont., tourist attraction, the only place in the country that still holds whales in captivity. And three out of five belugas that Marineland sold to Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut have died since being moved there in the spring of 2021.

Ontario's Animal Welfare Services, which is part of the Ministry of the Solicitor General, launched an investigation into Marineland in 2020. The next year, the province declared all marine mammals at Marineland in distress due to poor water quality and ordered the park to fix the issue – the park appealed while denying its animals were in distress, but later dropped that appeal.

The current status of the provincial probe is unclear, with little information available on action Ontario is taking, and the most recent beluga death has opposition politicians and animal welfare advocates questioning what they see as a lack of transparency from the province.

A spokesman for Solicitor General Michael Kerzner, whose department is responsible for animal welfare across the province, said Animal Welfare Services has conducted more than 200 inspections at the park.

"As has been demonstrated in the past, Animal Welfare Services will not hesitate to issue orders or charges for animal welfare violations at Marineland," spokesman Hunter Kell wrote in a statement. 

Kerzner's office would not elaborate on what the inspections entailed, nor what orders have been issued, and to what effect.