Another beluga whale has died at Marineland amusement park in Ontario, bringing to 15 the number of whales who have died there since 2019.
Ontario’s Animal Welfare Services Branch has been investigating Marineland since it took over the animal cruelty case in 2020.
“The ministry is aware of the death of a beluga and a sea lion at Marineland,” confirmed the spokesperson for the Ministry of the Solicitor General of Ontario, Brent Ross, in an email sent to La Presse Canadian.
Since January 2020, Marineland has notified the department of the deaths of 14 beluga whales, a killer whale, a dolphin, a harbor seal, a gray seal and two California sea lions, Ross said.
Marineland, for its part, did not respond to a request for comment from The Canadian Press.
Marineland boasts on its site its “solid record” in terms of the well-being of its animals and assures that it wants to continue “to give priority to their health and well-being”.
The office of Solicitor General Michael Kerzner, which oversees the ministry responsible for animal welfare services, reiterated that Ontario is a leader in animal protection.
“The Animal Welfare Services Branch continues to conduct compliance inspections at Marineland to determine whether standards of care are being met,” said Hunter Kell, a spokesperson for Mr. Kerzner, by email.
“As previously stated, the Animal Welfare Services Branch will not hesitate to implement orders if Marineland fails to comply with all rules, regulations and standards of care regarding animal welfare. »
News of the death of another beluga whale at the park came days after the death of a third beluga whale that was transferred from Marineland to Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut in 2021.
Marineland sold five beluga whales to the U.S. facility. Mystic argued that the deaths of the other two whales were caused by pre-existing conditions they already suffered from when they left Marineland.
The US government launched an investigation after the first two deaths. This is still in progress.
The Canadian government, for its part, has not looked into this transfer.
Poor water quality
The week the whales were relocated, Ontario’s Animal Welfare Services Branch found that all of Marineland’s marine mammals were in distress due to poor water quality.
In court documents, Marineland denied its animals were in distress and refuted that water played a role in the whales’ deaths.
A few weeks ago, Phil Demers, a former Marineland trainer who is now co-founder of the animal rights organization UrgentSeas, launched a drone over Marineland’s beluga tanks, which are closed to the public for Winter.
The video captured by this drone was published online by UrgentSeas. In it, we seemed to see a beluga floating “listlessly,” noted Mr. Demers.
“He didn’t look healthy,” he admitted. It made me think of the belugas I saw just before they died during my visit to Marineland. »
On Sunday, the group once again deployed its drone above the pools and counted 36 belugas. There were 37 belugas in them when The Canadian Press visited the site last June.
“We should be angry to see that belugas are dying in large numbers, but it is all the more frustrating to see that nothing is being done to correct the situation,” lamented Mr. Demers. Where is the accountability of Marineland or the province, who are supposed to protect animals in captivity? »
In an investigation published earlier this year, The Canadian Press revealed that 13 belugas, a dolphin and the country’s only killer whale, Kiska, have died at Marineland since 2019.
Twelve of the beluga deaths occurred within two years. Documents obtained under access to information laws revealed that a beluga named Ikora died on October 24, 2019, followed by 10 others. A beluga whale named Bull died on November 23, 2021.
Ontario’s investigation into Marineland, which has been underway for four years, remains shrouded in mystery. Officials have refused to release details of their investigation, including what they are doing in the park and how the animals died.