The saga of the Marineland beluga whales continues, as the financially-troubled Niagara amusement park says it can no longer affords to feed the whales, and is calling on the federal government to bail it out, after years of exploiting the whales for its own profit. In fact, it says it will start to euthenize the belugas if some level of government doesn't come through with funding. Not only is this an attempt at blackmail, it is a complete abdication of responsibility.
The park, which uses whales for entertainment and has already managed to kill 19 belugas and an orca since 2019, is effectively holding the beluga as hostages. It says it has arranged for the whales to be sold to a Chinese amusement park where they would probably be kept in even worse conditions. But the government has (quite rightly) nixed such a move and refused to grant export permits, on the grounds that it would be against the Fisheries Act and Criminal Code to allow the whales to face a future of exploitation, performing tricks in captivity.
The chutzpah of Marineland beggars belief. They should sell every last asset they possess in order to relocate the belugas to somewhere they can live out what remains of their lives in some level of comfort and freedom. Various non-profits and municipalities in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Northern Quebec have made overtures towards taking the whales, but it is Marineland that should be paying for this.
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