A fifth beluga has died at Canada\u2019s Marineland, as questions mount over the future of both the controversial theme park and one of the world\u2019s largest populations of captive whales.<\/p>\n
The most recent fatality marks the 17th beluga to die at the Niagara Falls aquarium since 2019.<\/p>\n
Neither the Ontario government nor the park have disclosed the cause of the whale\u2019s death.<\/p>\n
But speaking to the Canadian Press, the province\u2019s chief animal welfare inspector said the quality of Marineland\u2019s water was \u201cwithin the acceptable limits\u201d and that a specialized unit of inspectors tested Marineland\u2019s water weekly.<\/p>\n
Melanie Milczynski also said enforcement officials had visited the park 205 times since the province took over animal welfare enforcement from the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in 2020.<\/p>\n
In late October, the whistleblower account UrgentSeas, co-founded by a former walrus trainer at Marineland, Phil Demers, published drone footage of veterinarians and trainers attempting to give medication and fluids to the sick beluga.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really don\u2019t know how many days it has left,\u201d Demers told the Guardian at the time. \u201cBut when you\u2019re at this stage, just trying to keep the whale alive, it\u2019s not good. Seeing this is absolutely heartbreaking. It just kills you inside.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marineland Canada is the last aquarium in the country to hold captive whales and made headlines last year when a captive whale named Kiska, dubbed the \u201cworld\u2019s loneliest orca\u201d, died from a bacterial infection after spending four decades at the park. In a video clip before her death, the 47-year-old whale, who didn\u2019t encounter another orca for more than a decade, is seen drifting listlessly in her tank.<\/p>\n
The park, which has the world\u2019s largest beluga population, has defended the quality of its care, telling the Guardian deaths were a natural outcome. Marineland\u2019s specialists \u201ccare for the animals when they are sick and every effort to save them is made\u201d the park said in an email.<\/p>\n
In August, Marineland was ordered to pay nearly C$85,000 (US$61,000) after it was found guilty of three violations of the province\u2019s animal cruelty laws related to its captive American black bears.<\/p>\n
News of the latest beluga death has prompted an outcry from the province\u2019s politicians. The New Democrat leader, Marit Stiles, called the outcome \u201cdisgraceful\u201d and threatened to shut down the park if elected premier. The Liberal leader, Bonnie Crombie, warned there was \u201cno accountability\u201d for Marineland and the care of \u201cbeautiful mammals\u201d.<\/p>\n
For Demers, whose public clashes with the park have resulted in a string of lawsuits from his former employer, the death reflects a long-running failure of the province to forcefully intervene in the park.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been forewarning the public for over a decade that Marineland\u2019s whales would be dying en masse unless someone intervened to fix the conditions,\u201d he said. \u201cNow it seems the government themselves are protecting Marineland. It\u2019s difficult to have trust in your institutions when they continually fail.\u201d<\/p>\n