UPDATE: In a significant victory for animal welfare, Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has officially denied Marineland’s request to export 30 beluga whales to Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, a large aquarium and theme park in China.
https://www.chimelong.com/zh/ Theme park in China
DFO Minister Joanne Thompson confirmed the decision, stating she could not “in good conscience” approve the export. She emphasized that allowing the transfer would have meant condemning these whales to continued captivity and public entertainment, a direct contradiction of Canada’s values and marine mammal protection laws.
Under the 2019 Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act, it is illegal to breed or use whales, dolphins, and porpoises for entertainment in Canada. Exporting these animals now requires a special federal permit, which was rightfully denied.
We are relieved that these intelligent, social animals will not be sent overseas to suffer further exploitation. But the fight is not over. Canada must now take the next step by supporting the creation of sea sanctuaries where these whales can live out the rest of their lives in a more natural and peaceful environment.
This decision marks a hopeful milestone, but true progress will come when these animals are granted the retirement they deserve.
September 9th: In a deeply disturbing move, Marineland Canada has applied for permits to export its remaining 30 beluga whales to a theme park in China. These whales are sentient, intelligent beings who have already endured years of confinement, and are now facing the terrifying possibility of being shipped halfway across the world to spend the rest of their lives in tanks, far from the cold North Atlantic waters where they belong.
Animal welfare organizations are justifiably outraged. This is not merely a relocation, but a violation of public trust, a rejection of scientific knowledge, and a betrayal of these beluga whales.
Beluga whales are highly intelligent creatures, capable of forming deep familial bonds, navigating vast ocean distances, and communicating through complex vocalizations. Confining them to concrete tanks is not only unethical, it’s torture. Now they will be sent to a country where there are virtually no enforceable animal welfare laws.
”We’ve long known MarineLand was intent on sending the whales to China but there’s no tank space yet at Chimelong Ocean Kingdom – which means the whales are forced to remain in awful and deteriorating conditions while Andrew Burns (MarineLand’s lawyer) seeks top dollar instead of prioritizing their welfares. Those animals need to be moved asap into better conditions or more will die. Sadly, there are no current sanctuaries to send them to so they’ll have to go to other facilities. Better and ASAP,” Phil Demers, Director of UrgentSeas, told WAN.
Once the whales are shipped overseas, Canada will have no control over their treatment, health, or survival. They could be forced to perform daily and condemned to a life of permanent captivity for entertainment.
The answer isn’t more concrete tanks, it’s sea sanctuaries, safe ocean havens where once-captive marine mammals can spend the rest of their lives with freedom, dignity, and room to live.
Canada’s 2019 ban on the captivity of whales and dolphins was a landmark achievement. Yet permitting this export would undermine that progress, signaling that financial interests take precedence over compassion.
For these belugas, every day in a tank is a day of suffering. But their story isn’t over. Their future can be one of hope, where they are given freedom instead of being forced to perform for entertainment.
The answer is clear: stop the export and build a sanctuary.
TAKE ACTION! Tell the Canadian government to protect these beluga whales from dangerous transfers by signing Animal Justice’s petition HERE!
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten