Following threats of euthanasia, Canadian officials say Marineland officials have a “solid plan” to move the whales and dolphins to several parks in the U.S.
Marineland is in talks with Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut and SeaWorld, which has several U.S. locations, according to the Canadian Press.
Canada’s Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson said in a release that she had approved an application to export the 30 belugas and four dolphins. She said the conditional approval came after a meeting with Marineland officials.
“I will issue the final permits once the final required information is received from Marineland,” she said on Tuesday. “My focus has been the best interest of the whales, and that is what has guided this decision.”
Marineland had given Canadian officials a deadline of Jan. 30 to approve the export permits, otherwise it would go ahead with its backup plan to euthanize the belugas and dolphins, according to a letter Thompson wrote to the park that was obtained by The Canadian Press.
Twenty whales — one killer whale and 19 belugas — have died at Marineland since 2019, based on internal records and official statements collected by The Canadian Press.
In October, Canada denied the park’s request to send the whales to the Chimelong Ocean Kingdom theme park in China. Thompson said at the time that sending them to China “would perpetuate the treatment these belugas have endured.”
The future of Marineland, which closed to the public in 2024, has been clouded since a federal law passed in 2019 and a provincial law dating from 2015 that bans the sale, breeding and captivity of whales, according to the Guardian. The effect of the ban means that while Marineland’s existing cetacean population can remain at the park, no new whales can be acquired.