Overview

• With a Tuesday deadline looming, Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson called Marineland’s funding request “inappropriate” and said the park remains responsible for the whales’ care.
• Last week the federal government denied export permits to send the belugas to China’s Chimelong Ocean Kingdom under 2019 changes restricting cetacean exploitation.
• Marineland told Ottawa it is insolvent, running out of money to feed and care for the whales, and warned bankruptcy or euthanasia could follow without funding or export approval.
• Ontario faces calls to intervene, as Premier Doug Ford pledged to “do whatever it takes” and the province holds inspection powers and potential authority to seize animals for welfare.
• Rehoming options are limited, with a planned Nova Scotia sanctuary not operational and no alternative aquaria confirmed, and roughly 20 cetaceans have died at the park since 2019.