Marineland says its remaining belugas shouldn’t be sent to N.S. sanctuary
Global News
Federal Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson denied Marineland's request last week for a permit to ship Canada’s last captive whales to buyers at an aquarium in China.
Marineland says it has more than a dozen reasons why none of its remaining 30 belugas should be sent to a proposed whale sanctuary in Nova Scotia.
The shuttered Ontario theme park, which is trying to sell the whales to avoid bankruptcy, made headlines last week when Federal Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson denied Marineland’s request for a permit to ship Canada’s last captive whales to buyers at an aquarium in China.
Marineland responded by saying it doesn’t have the money to continue feeding the whales and asked for emergency funding from Ottawa, warning that it might otherwise have no choice but to euthanize the snow-white mammals.
Thompson has said she “would love to see the whales in a sanctuary,” but Marineland has argued that no such sanctuary is currently available for 30 belugas, including the Whale Sanctuary Project’s proposed coastal refuge near Wine Harbour, N.S.
The owners of the theme park in Niagara Falls, Ont., have released a report alleging the site in eastern Nova Scotia is too polluted and has seen no development since plans for its construction were unveiled in 2020.
“Marineland is of the view that serious environmental issues that remain unresolved, along with a total lack of proven financial viability, precludes any further consideration of the WSP as an appropriate site,” the report says.
“Based on the apparent lack of progress to date, it is not possible to estimate any date by which the WSP facility may be capable of receiving cetaceans.”
Charles Vinick, CEO of the Whale Sanctuary Project, said Tuesday that Marineland raised these same allegations in a detailed study released in 2021.
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