Stay of execution in Canada for dozens of belugas threatened with euthanasia
Canadian water park Marineland, which was denied permission to sell 30 belugas it could no longer afford to care for, has threatened to euthanize the animals. Talks have begun with the Ontario government to save the animals, whose plight is reminiscent of that of the cetaceans at Marineland in France.
In Canada, Marineland is experiencing a troubled end to its life. After 63 years of existence, the marine and land mammal park located near Niagara Falls closed its doors to the public last year, notes The New York Times , “following years of declining attendance and accusations of mistreatment.”
Claiming to be short of money, Marineland initially tried to sell its belugas to an aquarium in China, The Globe and Mail reports , but Canadian Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson refused to issue the necessary permits. She “did not want to subject them to a future captive show, in accordance with a law passed in 2019” banning the breeding of dolphins and whales for entertainment purposes.
The abandoned park has caused a stir in recent days by threatening to euthanize the belugas as early as October 7 if it does not receive financial assistance from Ottawa to feed and care for them.
With a source within the park telling the CBC that maintaining the belugas costs the equivalent of €1.2 million per month, ideas are surging to relocate the cetaceans. An Inuit man from the Nunavik region of northern Canada has called on his Indigenous people's leaders to reintegrate them into
Courrier International
