Overview

• The closed Niagara Falls park told the federal government it would euthanize the belugas if emergency funding or permission to export them was not granted by an October 7 deadline.
• Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson denied the transfer to China’s Chimelong Ocean Kingdom and said Ottawa would not cover Marineland’s costs, citing ethical concerns and Canada’s 2019 cetacean law.
• About 30 belugas and four dolphins remain at Marineland alongside other marine mammals, with recent reports of an additional beluga and a seal dying late this summer.
• Animal-welfare groups and local politicians condemned the ultimatum as extortion and urged authorities to secure the animals.
• Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the province could seize the whales to safeguard them and recover costs later through a sale of the facility.