The Marineland belugas keep dying. Was it a mistake to move them?
So far, 6 out of 30 whales transferred out of closed Ontario theme park have died
A few months after a mass relocation effort that stretched across the Atlantic Ocean, six whales have died out of the 30 that were transferred from the now-shuttered Marineland theme park in Niagara Falls, Ont.
The most recent death, a beluga named Cyprus, was announced on Sunday by SeaWorld San Diego — one of five facilities in the U.S. and Spain that took in the marine mammals after Marineland said it could no longer care for them.
The deaths have raised questions about the impact of the transfers on their health and well-being and whether they were fit to travel, and rehashed concerns about the conditions they were living in during the years they spent at Marineland.
But was there ever a better option for the last captive whales and dolphins in Canada?
Advocacy groups such as Animal Justice have pointed to the federal and provincial governments, as well as Marineland, saying they failed to properly plan for the animals' futures. Experts have said they're worried these deaths are just the beginning. Meanwhile, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans maintains the transfers were the best possible rescue plan.
Cyprus, a beluga whale who was rescued from Marineland in Niagara Falls in August, is shown in an undated photo published to social media by SeaWorld San Diego. SeaWorld announced the whale's death on Oct. 18. (SeaWorld San Diego/Facebook)
"This was, I would say, almost kind of a Hail Mary effort in terms of trying to make sure that we could provide a better life for these whales," Dr. Doug Whiteside, the head veterinarian at the Calgary Zoo and a member of the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association's animal welfare committee, told CBC News.
They were already under chronic stress from the conditions they faced at Marineland, Whiteside said. Transferring them caused additional stress, even though international regulations were followed and they went to high-calibre institutions to receive full-time care, he said.
"Is it a risk? Absolutely ... any sort of acute stress may push them over the edge," he said.
While we can't underestimate the stress of the transfers on the whales, that doesn't mean it's not in their best interests to try to give them a better life, said Angela Fernandez, director of the Animal Law Program at the University of Toronto's law faculty.
"People knew that there were stronger and weaker individuals in the mix, just like there would be among a group of 30 human retirees," Fernandez told CBC News.
"You would not evacuate an old-age home and take only the strong individuals if there is capacity to take everyone."
What happened to Marineland?
Marineland, once Canada's most popular amusement park, has been the subject of controversy for years, with animal rights activists and others vehemently opposed to its practices.
A federal law passed in 2019 that bans keeping whales, dolphins and porpoises for breeding or entertainment in Canada shuttered its business model. Then it never recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic's tourism slump.
In 2024, the park was put up for sale and began relocating many of its animals. But in 2025, the federal government blocked Marineland's request to export the remaining belugas to an aquarium in China. Marineland responded by asking for emergency funding from Ottawa, warning that it might otherwise have no choice but to euthanize them.
Releasing them into the wild would lead to certain death for the mammals raised in captivity, marine experts noted. And there was no appropriate seaside sanctuary for them in North America. A proposed sanctuary in Nova Scotia was still years away from being developed.
In May, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans endorsed a rescue plan to split up all remaining whales between Oceanogràfic València in Spain and four U.S. locations: Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and two SeaWorld facilities in San Diego and San Antonio, Texas.
By the end of August, the last whale had been shipped out.
This situation was entirely avoidable, said Camille Labchuk, executive director of Animal Justice, based in Toronto. The animal law advocacy group had pushed for a proactive plan to move the whales to a seaside sanctuary for years, she said, adding there was still time to plan a responsible transition after the 2019 legislation passed.
"It was obvious to everyone that Marineland would one day close, because the public no longer wants to see miserable whales swim in circles in tiny tanks," Labchuk said.
"A seaside sanctuary was always going to be a challenging undertaking ... but these challenges don't excuse the failure to plan for a better option."
Concerns about fitness to travel
Since their transfer, four whales have died at Chicago's Shedd Aquarium, one whale and a dolphin have died at Oceanogràfic València and another whale has died at SeaWorld San Diego — representing one-fifth of the rescued whales.
The first, Peekachu, died on Aug. 25, about two weeks after arriving in Chicago. Rain was next on Sept. 2, followed by Osiris on Sept. 21, both of them also at Shedd. Necropsies for Peekachu and Rain, and preliminary results for Osiris, identified long-standing intestinal and liver issues that began before their rescue, the aquarium wrote in a blog post.
Jelly Bean died on Sept. 17 at Oceanogràfic València, and then Echo, a dolphin, died at the same facility on Sept. 23. They had been experiencing a list of health complications and organ abnormalities that may have developed prior to the transfer, the aquarium said in a news release.
Animal Justice urges investigation into Marineland beluga death in Chicago, wants relocation efforts halted
Marineland belugas that died in Chicago had chronic inflammatory disease, preliminary necropsy findings show
On Oct. 9, Shedd announced the death of Caspian two days earlier, noting it had been concerned about her health for weeks. The aquarium hasn't yet released her necropsy results. Cyprus, the sixth ill-fated beluga, died last weekend. SeaWorld San Diego said an ultrasound determined the animal's intestinal tract did not appear to be functioning normally.
There wasn't much transparency around the condition of the whales and dolphins before they were transferred due to their private ownership, U of T's Fernandez said. "After years and decades in captivity, it would be surprising if they didn’t all have significant health problems."
The deaths raise questions about whether the animals were fit to travel and whether every possible precaution was taken, Labchuk said, adding that the public deserves transparency.
'Heartbreaking,' says former trainer
Kristy Burgess, who worked as a trainer at Marineland from 2022 to 2025, called the deaths "heartbreaking."
Burgess has previously spoken out about the conditions at Marineland, noting that the beluga pools were in desperate need of repair and that the whales were eating paint peeling off the walls.
She now says she wishes there had been more opportunity for independent experts to contribute to the decision-making, as well as greater transparency around the planning, risks and ongoing health of the animals.
"Change has to come with a realistic, carefully considered plan for the animals themselves," Burgess said.
Former Marineland trainer Kristy Burgess says the beluga pools were in desperate need of repair and the whales were eating paint peeling off the walls. (Submitted by Kristy Burgess)
Whiteside, the Calgary Zoo's head veterinarian, said his understanding of the situation is that there simply wasn't a better option.
The belugas were in a "horrible situation" crowded into crumbling pools at Marineland, he said.
At least a transfer gave them a chance for a better life, he said, even if some didn't survive.
The experience is a sad example of what can happen when institutions like Marineland aren't held to account, Whiteside said.
By not being held to account, Marineland allowed the animals to get to a state where they were chronically stressed, crowded in pools and eating paint, he said.
"Right from the get-go, this sets you up for potential failure."
'Their best chance of survival'
Before the animals' transport began, federal Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson said she had taken reasonable steps to ensure their safety, including individual health assessments for each animal.
In a statement to CBC News on Wednesday, Thompson said she was still confident in the rescue plan, noting that the transfer was "a significant and complex undertaking."
"Marineland was no longer able to care for these animals. I remain confident that this rescue plan gives these belugas their best chance of survival and that they are being cared for by experienced professionals who are deeply committed to their welfare," she said.
The experts and advocates who spoke to CBC News say their concern now is for the fate of the remaining Marineland whales.
"It's almost a certainty that more belugas and dolphins will die," Labchuk of Animal Justice said.
But Fernandez said "that means 24 are safe, at least for now."
CBC News has reached out to Marineland for comment but has not received a response.
Beluga whales swim in a tank at Marineland in Niagara Falls on June 9, 2023. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press)
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With files from Krishen Persad, Carly Thomas, Hanna Lee, J.P. Tasker and The Canadian Press