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The deaths of Canada’s last captive whales got a reprieve on Monday when the Canadian government conditionally approved plans to export them to the United States.
Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson met Monday with officials from Marineland, the closed theme park and zoo. niagara falls, ontariotalks about its proposed plan to move the animals south. The park is in discussions with four U.S. agencies to remove 30 of the beluga whales and four dolphins.
“This was a constructive meeting and I conditionally approved the export license,” Thompson said in a statement posted on social media on Monday. “I will issue the final license once the final required information is received from Marine Park.”
Malinland pleaded with the minister, telling her repeatedly that the park was running out of money. The park has informed Thompson that the animals will be euthanized if an export permit is not obtained by Jan. 30, according to a letter Thompson sent to Marineland on Monday, obtained by The Canadian Press.
Marineland said in a statement that Thompson supports relocating the animals. “We are grateful to the minister and the Government of Canada for prioritizing the lives of these extraordinary marine mammals,” the statement said.
The move comes after Marineland proposed a so-called emergency relief package to the federal government last week.
The park is reportedly in discussions with the Shedd Aquarium chicagothe Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut and SeaWorld with multiple locations across the United States.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford Support Thompson’s decision.
“They’re going to have a better home than they have now because the home they have now is terrible,” Ford said of the animals. “It’s not big enough.”
Twenty whales — one killer whale and 19 beluga whales — have died at SeaWorld since 2019, according to a tally compiled by The Canadian Press based on internal records and official statements.
In October, Marineland applied for an export license to move its beluga whale population to Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in China. Thompson declined the permits and said she would not allow the whales to perform in captivity in the future.
This is consistent with a 2019 law banning the keeping of whales and dolphins in captivity, although SeaWorld’s animals are not restricted.