Canada gives conditional approval for Marineland to export remaining belugas to the US

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TORONTO (AP) — Canada’s last captive whales have received a reprieve from death after the government conditionally approved a plan Monday to export them to the United States.

Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson met Monday with officials from Marineland, the shuttered theme park and zoo in Niagara Falls, Ontario, to talk about its proposed plan to move the animals south. The park is in discussions with four U.S. institutions to take its 30 beluga whales and four dolphins.

“It was a constructive meeting, and I provided conditional approval for export permits,” Thompson said in a statement posted on social media Monday. “I will issue the final permits once final required information is received from Marineland.”

Marineland pleaded with the minister, telling her repeatedly the park was running out of money. The park had told Thompson the animals would be euthanized if the export permits were not authorized by Jan. 30, according to a letter she wrote to Marineland on Monday, which was obtained by The Canadian Press news agency.

Marineland said in a statement that it has Thompson’s support for the relocation of the animals. “We extend our gratitude to the minister and the Canadian government for prioritizing the lives of these remarkable marine mammals,” it said.

The move comes after Marineland presented what it called an urgent rescue solution to the federal government last week.

The park is reportedly in discussions with the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut and SeaWorld, which has several U.S. locations.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford supported Thompson’s decision.

“They’re going to have a better home than where they are because it’s a terrible home they’re in right now,” Ford said of the animals. “It wasn’t large enough.”

Twenty whales — one killer whale and 19 belugas — have died at Marineland since 2019, according to an ongoing tally created by The Canadian Press based on internal records and official statements.

In October, Marineland applied for export permits to move its complement of belugas to Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, an aquarium in China. Thompson denied those permits, saying she would not subject the whales to a future performing in captivity.

That is consistent with a 2019 law that banned whale and dolphin captivity, though Marineland’s animals were grandfathered in.