In May 2023, the Mayor of Niagara Falls, where Marineland is located, announced that the park was actively for sale. “It’s run its course and it’s time to change direction,” he said.
We are updating this page regularly with news items from major media to keep you informed about this crisis while we work with ally organizations in Canada to create solutions for the 30 surviving beluga whales at Marineland Canada.
October 23rd, 2025: Ontario Solicitor General claims Marineland’s 30 beluga whales are not in the province’s jurisdiction. Presses federal government to approve permits for some of the whales to go to China and adds that “maybe some can go to Nova Scotia [sanctuary].”
October 18th, 2025: Ontario NGO Animal Justice files complaint with the Niagara Regional Police, calling for intervention to ensure Marineland does not kill the surviving belugas and warning that killing them one by one would cause the others profound psychological suffering. They present a detailed action plan to ensure a better future for the whales.
October 16th, 2025: Canadian Veterinary Medical Association says it has reviewed the situation of the beluga whales at Marineland and is calling for a staged, veterinary-led triage and emergency-care plan for individuals beluga to determine what is in the best interest of each animal.
October 15th, 2025: Animal lawyers urge the Ontario government to use its power under the Provincial Animal Welfare Services Act (PAWS) to intervene and protect the 30 beluga whales at Marineland who could potentially be “on death row.” Colin Saravanamuttoo, executive director of World Animal Protection Canada, notes that Ontario has primary jurisdiction and that “This game of chicken between Marineland, the province and Ottawa is totally unacceptable.”
October 14th, 2025: A former trainer at Marineland, who was fired earlier this year, speaks out about the conditions that the beluga whales are living in. She tells the Canadian Press that the tanks “are in desperate need of repair with their painted walls peeling and concrete chunks falling into the water” and that the water system breaks down regularly.
October 11th, 2025: Marineland representatives have told Mayor Diodati of Niagara Falls that the company has restructured and borrowed money to continue to buy food for the belugas, dolphins, sea lions, seals, deer and bears — but it’s only a matter of time before it runs out. Ultimately, the mayor says, Marineland and the provincial and the federal governments will need to work together to come up with and agree on a solution.
October 9th, 2025: Mayor Diodati of Niagara Falls (where Marineland is located) says the federal government needs to “help us find a solution … We need all hands on deck, everyone needs to row the boat, we all take responsibility for the soft landing of these whales … to work expeditiously to make sure that they get to a sanctuary.” (Video here.)
October 7th, 2025: Marineland appears to pull back from its threat to kill the belugas if the government will not provide funding. The National Post quotes this statement that it received from the company: “Marineland is actively working with the provincial government to find a suitable solution that ensures the health and wellbeing of our 30 beluga whales. We sincerely appreciate their willingness to do so.”
October 6th, 2025: In response to Marineland Canada repeatedly pressing the Government for a permit to export their beluga whales to China or to pay for their care, Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson writes: “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.”
October 3rd, 2025: Marineland Canada says it is running out of money and that without financial support from the federal government, it will have to kill the 30 beluga whales at its shuttered park. (See the full letter here.)
The introduction of orcas, belugas, and dolphins in the 1970s transformed Marineland into one of Canada’s top tourist attractions. At its peak, the park reportedly drew hundreds of thousands of visitors annually, generating substantial revenue from ticket sales, concessions and merchandise. When, in February, Marineland succeeded in its bid to sever its entertainment park from the rest of its property, the park positioned itself to sell its very large swath of land near Niagara Falls, which is considered to be some of the most valuable real estate in Ontario.
(We at the Whale Sanctuary Project are working with ally organizations to press for life-affirming options that must begin with on-site independent health evaluations for each individual whale.)
October 1st, 2025: The federal government has denied a request from Marineland to send its remaining beluga whales to the Chimelong Ocean Kingdom aquarium in China. In a statement to the press, Minister Joanne Thompson of the Department of Fisheries & Oceans said that the government’s decision is consistent with the 2019 law (Bill S203, the Ending Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act) that bans whale and dolphin captivity for the purposes of entertainment and forbids breeding. “To approve the request would have meant a continued life in captivity and a return to public entertainment,” she said.
“All whales belong in the ocean, not in tanks for entertainment purposes,” she said, adding that she was “looking at other decisions that really speak to the health and well-being of the whales.”
(We at the Whale Sanctuary Project are working with our community partners and government to move the sanctuary forward.)
September 26th, 2025: The situation at Marineland is “terrible,” says Ontario Premier Doug Ford. “They have a responsibility to take care of these whales. They need to make sure that they’re healthy.”
September 4th, 2025: Another beluga whale and a harbor seal have died at Marineland. This means a total of 20 beluga whales and the orca Kiska have died there since 2019. The CBC reports that a group of trespassers apparently “stirred the belugas into a frenzy, the sources said, which led to several younger belugas attacking an older one. The older beluga died a few days later despite efforts by Marineland staff to treat the whale.”
June 17th, 2025: Marineland Canada has begun selling all of its rides. Rides Plus LLC confirmed it is helping to sell the rides that remain in the park. A press release from Amusement Today says the rides are available to be bought by amusement operators, entertainment companies and other qualified buyers.
June 5th, 2025: Marineland Canada says that with the busy summer tourist season approaching, it hasn’t decided if it will re-open this year. “As Marineland has repeatedly publicly stated, we continue to be actively engaged in a sale process and transition to new ownership,” says the statement. “The long-term health and welfare of the animals remains Marineland’s priority in the transition process.” But the CBC reports that “As of Tuesday, [Marineland’s] main phone number wasn’t working, its Facebook page was taken down and its website made no mention of its reopening date.”
February 18th, 2025: At a public hearing, Marineland asks the City of Niagara Falls for permission to divide its property so that it can secure third-party financing that “requires the owner to remove the marine animals from the property expeditiously.” Lori Marino, President of the Whale Sanctuary Project, also addresses the meeting and lays out the urgency of finding new homes for all 31 whales, including transferring as many as possible to the sanctuary that the WSP is establishing in Nova Scotia.
February 5th, 2025: Another beluga whale has died at Marineland. The company says it euthanized Eos, a seven-year-old beluga whale, after its “hard-fought battle with multiple medical conditions.” The following week, Member of the Provincial Parliament Wayne Gates calls for the provincial and federal governments to “make sure the animals at Marineland are taken care of, that they’re safe, and that they’re transported where they have to go.”
January 14th, 2025: As news of an impending crisis at Marineland Canada starts to spread around the world, the British newspaper The Guardian reports that “over the past few years, the park has taken a decidedly dark turn as there has been a string of deaths among the world’s largest captive beluga population. Last year, five belugas died at the facility bringing the total number of whales and dolphins to die there since 2019 to more than 20.” The paper notes that journalists say it is “impossible to get a clear sense of why so many whales have died in such a short period of time.” And it notes that Marineland has said publicly that it is actively looking for a buyer.