(Toronto) Marineland has been ordered to pay nearly $85,000 in fines and restitution after being found guilty under Ontario’s animal cruelty laws of three counts related to the keeping of three black bears.
The amount, proposed jointly by Crown attorneys and Marineland, includes a $15,000 fine for each bear, a 25% victim fine surcharge and $28,000 restitution for the bears’ custody after they were seized by animal protection officers.
The Niagara, Ontario tourist attraction was convicted in March of what appears to be its first conviction under animal cruelty laws.
An agreed statement of facts read to the court earlier this year said the bears – Slash, Toad and Lizzy – lived in small enclosures with inadequate access to water for months.
The pens were 48 square feet, with the two females, Toad and Lizzy, sharing one.
The statement said animal welfare inspectors visited Marineland in early June 2021 and quickly issued orders to the park, including that bears have enclosures of at least 5,000 square feet if they are alone and access to water sources.
Months later, not enough progress had been made on the enclosures, the court said in an updated statement Thursday, and animal protection services eventually removed the three bears from the park’s care.
A lawyer representing Marineland argued in court Thursday that the orders were issued during the COVID-19 pandemic and that it was difficult to find staff to do the carpentry work needed to upgrade the enclosures, but that efforts were underway at the time the bears were removed.
PHOTO JASON DECROW, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
One orca, 14 belugas and one dolphin have died in the park since 2019.
Michelle Psutka added that the sentence represents a “significant” fine.
“This is a first offence for Marineland, and once again, we are dealing with a case of non-compliance, not a case of finding cruelty to animals,” she noted in her observations.
Marineland has until the end of September to pay the restitution fee, which the Crown says is based on the $145-a-day cost of caring for two of the bears for about six months before they are moved to a permanent enclosure at a wildlife centre.
The presiding justice of the peace said she was satisfied that the jointly proposed sentence met the need for deterrence as well as all aggravating and mitigating factors.
Animal Justice, an animal rights organization, expressed disappointment that prosecutors did not seek an order barring Marineland from having any more animals and that no ongoing corrective measures were imposed.
However, the organisation – which unsuccessfully sought to participate in the sentencing as an intervener – hailed the decision as historic, as it marks the first time the roadside zoo and aquarium have faced legal consequences for animal welfare breaches.
“Today marks a turning point in the fight to protect vulnerable animals from abuse for entertainment purposes,” Camille Labchuk, the organization’s executive director, said in a statement.
The province has been investigating the park for four years.
One orca, 14 belugas and one dolphin have died at the park since 2019. Currently, 15 bears live at Marineland.