Belugas Moved to Chicago Amid Euthanasia Risk
Thirty beluga whales housed at the shuttered Marineland Canada faced a serious threat of euthanasia before an emergency relocation effort began, according to Andrew Burns, a longtime adviser and attorney for the Ontario marine park.
Four of the whales have since arrived at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, while two others were transported to SeaWorld in San Antonio. Burns said no additional animals were expected to leave the facility during the same week, although Marineland hoped to relocate all of the remaining whales by Aug. 31.
Burns said the park had exhausted its available financial reserves while continuing to care for the animals and arrange new homes for them. He described euthanasia as a “real, direct and imminent risk.”
Marineland, located in Niagara Falls, Ontario, has been closed to visitors since 2024. The park opened in 1961 but faced years of declining attendance and allegations concerning its treatment of animals.
The facility previously sought permission to move the belugas to a theme park in China. Canadian authorities rejected that proposal after determining that the transfer would not serve the whales’ best interests. Marineland later told the federal government that relocation and euthanasia were the only remaining options.
The park spends approximately 1.5 million Canadian dollars each month to care for the whales, equivalent to about $1 million in U.S. currency, according to Burns.
The first six animals left Marineland during a complex transportation operation. Workers partially drained one of the pools before placing the whales in slings and lifting them into metal containers. The animals were then transported by truck to Toronto Pearson International Airport.
A Boeing 777 carried the whales to Chicago and San Antonio. Pilots were instructed to avoid steep takeoffs and landings to reduce the risk of injury during the flight.
Burns praised Shedd Aquarium and the other institutions that agreed to receive the animals, saying they “stepped up at the critical time.”
The transfer, however, has drawn criticism from animal welfare advocates. Some have accused Marineland of creating a manufactured crisis that pressured Canadian officials into approving the relocation of the whales to aquariums in the United States and Spain.
Critics argue that Marineland profited from captive whales and dolphins for decades and should help finance a proposed whale sanctuary in Nova Scotia. Supporters of the sanctuary say they have raised nearly half of the $15 million needed to open the facility.
Burns rejected the sanctuary proposal as unrealistic, arguing that supporters had failed for years to establish an operational site capable of receiving the animals.
Animal advocates have also raised concerns that the receiving aquariums could breed the transferred whales, potentially increasing the number of marine mammals living in captivity.
Burns said there is no available birth-control method for beluga whales. He argued that preventing breeding could require separating long-established family groups, which he said would not serve the animals’ social needs.
Shedd Aquarium is expected to receive additional belugas from Marineland, although the exact timing of future transfers will not be publicly announced in advance because of concerns about the animals’ safety.
