(Niagara Falls) Marineland amusement park has been accused of using dolphins and whales for entertainment, which the Niagara Falls-based company in southern Ontario denies.
According to the Niagara Regional Police Force, the investigation began in October into the involvement of cetaceans in shows organized for visitors.
“During the investigation, it was determined that dolphins and whales were used for entertainment purposes during the month of August, without obtaining prior authorization to do so,” reads in a press release from the police.
If these claims are proven, it is a violation of the End of Whale and Dolphin Captivity Act, passed in 2019 by the federal government. This makes the performances of dolphins or whales illegal.
A charge has been filed against Marineland for using cetaceans in a show without having had permission, said the police force.
Marineland denies these claims and assures that dolphins and whales take part in an educational presentation designed by experts.
In a statement, the company said its presentations involving animals contain segments where “marine mammals are called upon to demonstrate behaviors observed in ocean environments.”
These demonstrations, accompanied by educational explanations, would aim to allow visitors to better understand these marine species, according to Marineland.
The amusement park blames “ideologically motivated activists” who allegedly filed a complaint with the police.
The California-based organization Last Chance for Animals admits that it filed a complaint at the end of September and that an investigator hired by the organization gave testimony to the police in late October.
“We’re thrilled,” commented Canadian consultant Miranda Desa, who works with the California non-profit organization.
She reports that the investigator hired by the organization visited Marineland on August 3 and 9 and filmed the performances of the dolphins and whales.
Mme Desa says dolphins can be seen “doing somersaults, twisting, dancing and performing various feats to the sound of music in front of a visiting audience.”
The Canadian Press was able to see part of the footage, which appears to see dolphins performing various movements in front of a public and being rewarded by staff giving them food.
Marineland says he intends to challenge the accusation.
“Marineland understands why ideologically motivated activists might file a police complaint and recognizes that the Niagara Regional Police have faced pressure to lay such charges,” commented park management who are eager to wait. to be able to defend oneself in court.
Marineland is scheduled to appear in court on February 14, 2022.
Until then, the company says it will remain dedicated to its mission of research, education and conservation. She wants to continue to provide high quality care to her animals.
On Monday, Marineland also confirmed having received a request from the “Whale Sanctuary Project”, a wilderness sanctuary for whales to be established in Nova Scotia. This organization wishes to welcome Kiska, the only killer whale housed in Marineland, as well as several of the belugas there.
The park claims to have no ideological objection to the transfer of whales to sanctuaries or any other facility that meets the standards of care provided for by law.
But according to Marineland’s observations, the sanctuary “has no funding, no facility, no field staff and offers to operate in a toxic environment.”
For these reasons, the park says it has no intention of sending its whales there unless major changes are made.
The director general of the sanctuary project, Charles Vinick, recalled that the discussions with Marineland were only preliminary and that the organization is still in the development and design stage of its future facilities.
In recent years, an unspecified number of whales have died in the Marineland basins. The Ontario Animal Protection Service has been investigating the park’s facilities for months.
Last May, government inspectors said in a court document that all marine mammals in Marineland were in distress due to poor water quality.
According to documents obtained by The Canadian Press, inspectors twice ordered Marineland to repair the water treatment system in the various ponds.
Marineland challenged those orders, denying that its animals were in distress and arguing that the deaths of an unspecified number of whales had nothing to do with water quality.