Canada’s Marineland threatens to kill 30 beluga whales if emergency government funding isn’t approved

A defunct marine park in Canada threatened to slaughter its remaining 30 beluga whales if the federal government doesn’t fork over emergency funding to care for the animals by Tuesday night.

Marineland, an aquatic theme park in Niagara Falls that shuttered last year, said it will be forced to euthanize the whales after Fisheries Minister Joanna Thompson blocked its plan to send them to Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, an aquarium in China, according to the New York Times.

Thompson denied the export permit, saying the whales would continue to remain in captivity and exploited for entertainment — but park officials claimed they no longer have the money to care for them.

“If we do not receive a response by that date, we will have no choice to presume that the answers to our inquiries are negative,” the park demanded in a letter to fisheries officials Friday, warning that the animals’ demise would be “a direct consequence of the minister’s decision.”

Thompson fired back Monday, rejecting the request and slamming the park — which closed in 2024 amid falling attendance and animal abuse allegations — for failing to plan proper care for the whales.

“The fact that Marineland has not planned for a viable alternative despite raising these whales in captivity for many years, does not place the onus on the Canadian government to cover your expenses,” the fisheries minister said in her letter to the former Ontario tourist attraction, the Times reported.

Thompson said her decision aligns with a 2019 law — known as the “Free Willy” bill — which banned breeding whales and dolphins, keeping them in captivity, or using them for entertainment.

The law crippled the park’s attendance and forced it to shut down after 60 years of operation.

Marineland also faced intense scrutiny and protests over repeated allegations of animal abuse, with 20 whales, including one orca and 19 belugas, dying at the park since 2019, the Canadian Press reported.

The park was also fined in August 2024 for keeping three black bears in cramped cages for months without adequate water, according to the Times.

The Canadian law also requires a special federal permit to export marine animals.

“Threatening to kill all their animals if they don’t get emergency funding is just repugnant,” Melissa Matlow, a Toronto-based animal welfare activist, told the outlet.

“We need to take comfort that this is the last generation of whales and dolphins that will ever have to suffer again in Canada.”